If Today Was Your Last Day
by VoiceOfTime
Summary: Fifth in a Series.  Lily and the Doctor travel on with Amy and Rory as they battle the Silence and everything else that comes their way...The Doctor/OC, Amy/Rory
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

**Okay guys, this is the Fifth installment in my Lily and the Doctor Series, If Today Was Your Last Day! Whoo! If you're reading my Doctor Who FanFiction for the first time, go back and read the first four stories, starting with Never Gonna Be Alone, otherwise you will be confused. I know I usually but a summary here, but I figure if you're not going to go read the others, I'm not going to enable you. So there! **

***IMPORTANT! READ!***

**Now, usually I don't care about reviews on this chapter, but I do have a question for you this time. Do you guys think the Comic Relief episodes should come before or after A Christmas Carol? Please let me know, because I can't start until I know! **

**Also, be prepared for the fact that I'm going to write Time, Space, and A Christmas Carol, and then put this story on hiatus while we wait for Series 6 to end.**

**That said, review, and we'll be on our way!**

**Much love, **

**Abbey**


	2. A Christmas Carol: O Come, O Come

Disclaimer: Okay guys, we've been through four of these stories. If you haven't gotten it by now, I suggest you go get a MRI to check for some sort of brain damage.

**A/N: Okay, so popular vote says that A Christmas Carol comes first, so here you go. There will be four chapters of this, two chapters for Time and Space, and then, as much I hate to say it, If Today Was Your Last Day will go on hiatus until the complete end of Series 6. As much as I would like to say screw it, we'll take it as it comes, I'm just really afraid of writing myself into a corner I can't get back out of. But never fear, I am watching every week, formulating a plan in my head. So far, Lily has fit into all the episodes. And if this doesn't continue, we'll just track down Moffat down, kill him, and replace him with a controllable puppet! Hey, maybe we'll even get Lily as a real character that way!**

Ch. 2:

"Would all passengers please return to their seats and fasten their safety belts?" the computer called. "We are experiencing slight turbulence."

The Captain arrived on the pitching bridge as the ship crashed through the cloud layer and couldn't find its way out.

"Both engines failed, and the storm-gate's critical." She called. "The ship's going down! Christmas is cancelled."

"Entering atmosphere now!" one of the pilots yelled. "Level – keep her level!"

"Level with what?" his co-pilot demanded. "I can't see! What is that stuff?"

"Clouds?" the Captain suggested.

"What kind of clouds?" the first pilot demanded.

The Captain checked the computer.

"Are you sending a distress signal?" she asked.

"It's not me!" the first pilot replied.

She quickly checked where it was coming from.

"Who's in the honeymoon suite?" she demanded.

Behind her, the door opened and Amy entered the bridge, dressed in her policewoman's outfit.

"I've sent for help." She told the Captain.

"Who the hell are you?" the other woman demanded.

"Look, there's these friends of mine, okay, and they can help us." Amy told her. "They'll come!"

"And what ARE you wearing?" the Captain demanded.

Amy tugged at her skirt's hemline, self-consciously.

"That doesn't matter." She replied.

"Are you from the honeymoon suite?" the Captain asked.

"Oh, shut up!" Amy shot back.

The door opened again and Rory joined them, dressed as a Roman soldier. He was tossed into a wall as the ship shuddered and in his hand was a device.

"Amy, the light's stopped flashing…" he said. "Does that mean they're coming?"

"Honeymoon suite?" the first pilot guessed.

"Oh, oh, the clothes, um…" Rory sputtered. "It's just a bit of fun."

"Really, shut up!" Amy ordered.

"Sensor-loss on 80% of the hull…" the second pilot reported.

"So does this mean they're coming?" Rory asked again. "Or does it mean I need to change the bulb?"

"They'll come." Amy assured him. "They always come."

"Right, well, they're cutting it kind of fine!" he shot back.

"If we can't stabilize the orbit, we're finished." The Captain said.

"There's nothing to lock onto." The second pilot shouted. "I am flying blind."

"Come on, Doctor." Amy whispered. "Come on…"

"There's something coming alongside us." The second pilot called. "Something small, like a shuttle."

"Lily, just this once, don't let him be late." Amy continued.

"Ma'am…" the first pilot said. "Incoming message. It's from the other ship."

"On screen." The Captain ordered.

The message flashed onto the screen.

_Come along, Pond._

The TARDIS flew by and Rory glanced at Amy as she sighed in relief.

"What does that mean?" the Captain demanded.

"It's Christmas!" Amy replied.

* * *

><p>Below the clouds, a red beam shot into the atmosphere from the tip of the tallest building in the large city.<p>

"On every world, wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact mid-point, everybody stops and turns and hugs as if to say, 'Well done. Well done, everyone, we're halfway out of the dark.' Back on Earth, we called this Christmas or the Winter Solstice."

An older man stood in the building, looking out into the stormy sky.

"On this world, the first settlers called it the Crystal Feast." He continued. "You know what I call it?" He turned from the window. "I call it expecting something for nothing!"

He walked away and further into the room where a man was standing with his wife and son.

"Sir." He pleaded. "Mr. Sardick. We're only asking for one day. Just let her out for Christmas."

Two men wheeled a large pod into the room, with a young blonde woman inside.

"She loves Christmas." The father added.

"Does she?" Sardick replied. "Oh, does she? I see! Hello!" He tapped on the window with his cane. "Wakey-wakey – it's Christams! Do you know what? I think she's a bit cool about the whole thing."

He was the only one to laugh.

"That was funny." He told them.

The servants laughed.

"She's frozen." The son said.

"She's what, sorry?" Sardick demanded.

"She's in the ice, she can't hear you." The boy replied.

"Oh, what a clever little boy." Sardick said to the boy's parents. "You must be so irritated."

He turned to one of the servants.

"How much?" he demanded.

"Er…it's 4,500 Gideons, sir." The man replied.

"You took a loan of 4,500 Gideons and Little Miss Christmas is my security." Sardick said.

The phone began to ring and the servant answered.

"We're not asking for her back." The father said. "Just let her have one day. Let her have Christmas with us."

"Sir, it's the President." The servant called.

"Tell him I'm busy." Sardick replied, turning back to the father. "Now…where were we? Oh, yes! She's pretty, thought, your daughter. Maybe I should keep her."

"She's not my daughter, sir." The man told him.

"She's my sister." His wife added. "She volunteered for the ice when the family were in difficulties many years ago."

"Sorry, sir." The servant said, walking over. "The President says there's a galaxy-class ship trapped in the cloud layer and…well, we have to let it land."

"Or?" Sardick asked.

"Well…or it's crash, sir." The servant replied.

"Oh." Sardick said. "Well, it's a kind of landing, isn't it?"

"It's from Earth, sir, registering over 4,000 life forms on board." The servant told him.

"Not if we wait a bit!" Sardick replied, chuckling.

"You can't just let it crash, sir." The servant protested.

Outside, the son heard a grinding sound.

"Says who?" Sardick asked. "Oh, give it here." He took the phone. "Look, petal, we already have a surplus population. No more people allowed on this planet."

The son looked at the fireplace and saw soot falling from the chimney.

"I don't make the rules." Sardick continued. "Oh, no, hang on…I do." He hung up. "Right, you lot…poor, begging people, off home and pray for a miracle."

The father began to usher his family out, but the son looked back to see a large amount of soot fall, spreading embers in a gust. A second later, the Doctor came tumbling out. He jumped back to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Yes, blimey. Sorry! Christmas Eve on a rooftop, saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, 'What the hell'!"

There was a flash of gold and Lily appeared, leaning against the fireplace.

"For your brain to actually go 'What the hell', that would imply you actually have a brain." She told him in a bored tone. "And, as evidenced by the fact that you just threw yourself down a chimney, you apparently don't have one!"

"You should've done it!" he told her excitedly as he moved to stand in front of her. "It was so much fun!"

She smiled indulgently and leaned forward to wipe off his cheek before kissing it.

"Just try not to kill yourself before the wedding, alright?" she asked.

"I promise." He replied, smiling as he ran a finger across her cheek, leaving a soot mark behind and kissing her gently. "Love you. Anyway, don't worry, fat fella will be doing the rounds later. I'm just scoping out the general…chimney-ness. Yes." He leaned next to Lily. "Nice size, good traction…big tick!"

"Fat fella?" the father asked.

"Father Christmas, Santa Claus…" The Doctor replied. "Or, as I've always known him, Jeff."

"Liar." Lily coughed.

"There's no such person as Father Christmas." The son told him.

"Oh, yeah?" the Doctor asked.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out the black white photo.

"Me and Father Christmas, Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952." He told the boy, smirking at Lily. "See him at the back with the blonde…Albert Einstein. The three of us toether…hrroom! Watch out! Okay? Keep the faith, stay off the naughty list."

"Let me see that." Lily said, snatching the picture out of his hand. "No way. Where was I? How could you go see Einstein without me? Please tell me this is from when you and Jack took off on your own while I went with the girls to look at dresses. I don't think history could survive Jack meeting Einstein."

"Focus." The Doctor told her. "Ooh! Now, what's this? And I love this, a bit flashy lighty thing – that's what brought us here."

He walked over to a large control panel as Lily walked around the room, walking over to study the girl in the chamber.

"Big flasy lighty things have got me written all over them." The Doctor continued, sitting down in a chair and swiveling to face Sardick. "Not actually, but give me time and a crayon."

"No, really don't." Lily called. "I'm still trying to get the permanent ink off my stomach."

"That was a fun night." The Doctor said, grinning and Lily stuck her tongue out at him. "But anyway, this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah, and it controls the sky."

He stood up and walked forward.

"Well, technically, it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all." He continued. "Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds, love that. Don't you love that, Lily-girl?"

"Adore it." Lily replied. "Who's the girl?"

She pointed to the girl inside the chamber.

"Nobody important." Sardick replied.

"Really?" Lily asked, surprised, as she turned back to the girl. "Can we wake her up? Cause I've been alive for 200 plus years and he's been alive for 900 and we've never met anyone who wasn't important. I think meeting a truly unimportant person would be fascinating."

She start checking out the chamber as the Doctor went back to the console.

"Now, this console is the key to saving that ship, or I'll eat my hat…if I had a hat." He said. "I'll eat someone's hat. Not someone who's using their hat – I don't want to shock a nun, or something."

"We're not getting you a fez." Lily told him. "And you're rambling. Having problems, love?"

"This isn't working!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"The controls are isomorphic – one to one – they respond only to me." Sardick told him.

"Oh, you fibber…" the Doctor told him. "Isomorphic! There's no such thing."

"What about Koschei's screwdriver?" Lily demanded. "Granted, it didn't exactly work correctly, 'cause the screwdriver worked for me too."

"The Master was a genius." The Doctor said dismissively.

Sardick reached across and flipped a switch, shutting down the machine. Then he turned it back on. The Doctor reached over and flipped the same switch to no avail. He ran his screwdriver over the controls and over Sardick.

"These controls are isomorphic!" he said, surprised, as he checked the readings.

"The skies of this entire world are mine." Sardick told him. "My family tamed them, and now I own them."

"You can't own the sky." Lily scoffed. "And what do you mean, 'tamed the sky'? What does that mean?"

"It means I'm Karzan Sardick." The man replied. "How can you possibly not know who I am?"

"Well, I have a hard enough time remembering who I am with him around." Lily replied, annoyed as she pointed to the Doctor. "Excuse me if I don't know some random person on some backwater planet."

"Look, we need your help." The Doctor told him.

"Make an appointment." Sardick replied.

"There are 4,003 people in a spaceship trapped in your cloud belt." The Doctor said. "Without your help, they're going to die."

"Yes." Sardick agreed.

"You son of a-" Lily started, but the Doctor help up a hand to stop her.

"You don't have to let that happen." He told him.

"I know, but I'm going to." Sardick replied. "Bye-bye. Bored now…Chuck!"

_Theta, I'm going to rip him limb from limb, I hope you don't mind. _Lily told the Doctor. _He's going to kill Amy and Rory! Again, in Rory's case!_

_Just…hold on a minute._ The Doctor told her as one of Sardick's men came over and took him by the shoulder.

He ducked out his grip and stood in front of Sardick, who was now sitting in his arm chair, and Lily simply glared at her guard, who backed off after her eyes flashed gold.

"Ooh, look at you two, looking all tough now." Sardick said.

"There are 4,003 people I won't allow to die tonight." The Doctor told him. "Do you know where that puts you?"

"Where?" Sardick asked.

"4,004." The Doctor replied.

"Was that a sort of threat-y thing?" Sardick demanded.

"Whatever happens tonight, remember…you brought it on yourself." The Doctor told him.

"Yeah, yeah, right…" Sardick said, dismissively. "Get them out of here. And next time, try and find me some funny poor people."

Lily started forward and the Doctor grabbed her arm, pulling her along as they and the family were forced out. As they neared the door, the son picked up a lump of coal and threw it at Sardick, hitting him in the head. The old man stormed over and raised his hand to hit him.

"No, stop, don't!" the Doctor shouted.

"Don't you dare!" the Father yelled. "You leave him!"

Sardick hesitated for a moment before lowering his hand.

"Get him out of here!" he ordered. "Get that foul-smelling family out of here! Out!"

The family was led out.

"We're going!" the son shouted.

Sardick headed back to his chair, but stopped when he saw that the Doctor and Lily were still there, watching him thoughtfully.

"What?" he demanded. "What do you want?"

"A simple life." The Doctor replied.

"A mate who isn't determined to drive me insane." Lily answered, turning to the Doctor. "And actually, a simple life? That's very sweet, Theta." She turned back to Sardick. "But you didn't hit the boy."

"Well, I will next time!" Sardick assured her.

"No, you see, you won't." the Doctor said. "Now why? What am I missing?"

He walked past Sardick, looking around.

"Get out!" Sardick ordered. "Get out of this house!"

"The chairs!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Of course, the chairs! Stupid me, the chairs!"

"The chairs?" Sardick asked.

"There's a portrait on the wall behind me." The Doctor said. "Looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father. All the chairs are angled away from it. Daddy's been dead for 20 years. But you still can't get comfortable where he can see you. There's a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house, on Christmas Eve. You're scared of him and you're scared of being like him. And good for you, you're not like him, not really. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Sardick demanded.

"Because you didn't hit the boy." Lily said softly, making Sardick turn to look at her. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Sardick."

"I despise Christmas!" Sardick seethed.

"You shouldn't." the Doctor told him, walking past him to take Lily's hand. "It's very you."

"It's what?" Sardick demanded. "What do you mean?"

"Halfway out of the dark." The Doctor murmured.

He and Lily left as the servants returned.

"Get her downstairs with the others." Sardick ordered, motioning to the chamber. "Clean up this mess!"

* * *

><p>"Everything's offline!" the second pilot yelled. "Secondary furnace just vented."<p>

"Have you got a plan yet?" Amy demanded as she talked to Lily and the Doctor on the phone.

* * *

><p>"Yes, I do." The Doctor said as he and Lily stood outside Sardick's house.<p>

"Are you lying?" Amy asked.

"Of course he is." Lily replied.

"Don't treat me like an idiot." Amy ordered.

"Was he lying?" they heard Rory ask.

"No, no." Amy answered.

"Okay, good news." The Doctor said as he walked out into the street and Lily followed. "I've tracked the machine that unlocks the cloud belt. I could use it to clear you a flight corridor and you could land easily."

"Oh, hey, hey, that's great news." Amy said.

"But I can't control the machine." The Doctor continued.

"Less great." Amy replied.

"But I've met a man who can." The Doctor said.

"Ah, well, there you go!" Amy exclaimed.

"And he hates me." The Doctor added.

"Were you being extra charming and clever?" Amy asked.

"Why do you think he hates him?" Lily asked.

"Hey!" the Doctor exclaimed. "You were the one who wanted to kill him!"

"I didn't say he didn't hate me too." Lily said, shrugging.

"Sir…" the father called. "Ma'am."

"Hang on." The Doctor said into the phone, walking over to the father with Lily following.

"I've never seen anybody stand up to Mr. Sardick like that." The father told them. "Bless you, ma'am, sir, and merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." The Doctor replied. "Lovely. Sorry, bit busy."

"You'd better get inside, sir." The father warned. "The fog's thick tonight, and there's a fish warning."

"Oh, right, yeah." The Doctor said. "Sorry, fish?"

"Yeah." The father said. "You know what they're like when they get a bit hungry."

"Yeah, fish, I know fish." The Doctor replied, confused.

'Fish?' Lily mouthed, raising an eyebrow.

The Doctor shrugged.

"It's all Mr. Sardick's fault, I reckon." The father told them. "He always lets a few fish through the cloud layer when he's in a bad mood. Thank you. Bless you once again, both of you."

He walked away, leaving them staring after him.

"Fish?" Lily repeated, even more confused.

"Doctor, the Captain says we've got less than an hour…" Amy called. "What should we be doing?"

The Doctor looked at a streetlight and saw small fish swimming around it.

"Fish…!" he murmured.

Lily followed his gaze and stared at the fish in wonder.

"Sorry, what?" Amy asked.

"Fish that can swim in fog." The Doctor said. "I love new planets."

"Theta, there are fish." Lily said. "Swimming through the air."

"Yes, there are." The Doctor agreed.

"Oh, good, you see them too." Lily murmured. "I thought I might be having some sort of fit."

"Doctor!" Amy called. "Lily, don't you two get distracted!"

"Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny little fellas?" the Doctor asked himself, holding up his hand to let the fish investigate. "Look at you, sweet little fishy-wishies."

"900 years old, and little fish drop your vocabulary down to that of a two year old." Lily said, smiling fondly.

"Mind you, fish in the fog, so the cloud cover…" the Doctor continued, ignoring her. "Ooh. Careful up there."

"Oh, great, thanks, Doctor, because there was a real danger we were all going to nod off!" Amy said, sarcastically. "We've got less than an hour!"

"I know." The Doctor replied, glancing at a nearby clock.

The speakers began to play Ding Dong Merrily on High.

"Doctor?" Amy called. "Lily, how are you guys getting us off here?"

"Oh, just give me a minute!" the Doctor exclaimed before beginning to talk to himself. "Can't use the TARDIS, 'cause it can't lock on, and Lily can't jump because there's no vortex-being to jump to. So that ship needs to land, but it can't land unless a very bad man suddenly decides to turn nice, just in time for Christmas Day!"

"Doctor, I can't hear you." Amy called. "What is that? Is that singing?"

"A Christmas carol." The Doctor said.

"A what?" Amy asked.

Lily stared at him, her mouth hanging open.

"A Christmas carol." The Doctor repeated.

"No way." Lily said, shaking her head.

"A what?" Amy repeated.

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL!" the Doctor shouted excitedly.

"Doctor!" Amy yelled.

The Doctor grinned at Lily.

"You're insane." Lily told him.

His smile got wider and he looked up.

"Karzan Sardick!" he called.

"Lily!" Amy yelled.

"Merry Christmas, Kazran Sardick!" the Doctor shouted.

Lily covered her face with her hand.

A/N: AND WE'RE OFF!

I know it's going to be a long break, but please, when I'm done writing this part and the comic relief episodes, stick with me? You guys are my favorites, no matter what anyone else tells you!

Let me know what you thought!

Abbey


	3. A Christmas Carol: Still, Still, Still

Disclaimer: If you want to believe that I own Doctor Who, more power to you.

Ch. 3:

Kazran had fallen asleep in his chair and on the wall in front of him, a recording of a young boy in his bedroom was playing.

"Hello." The boy said. "My name is Kazran Sardick. I'm 12 ½, and this is my bedroom."

"Top secret special project." Sardick mumbled in his sleep.

"This is my top secret special project." Young Kazran continued. "For my eyes only. Merry Christmas."

"Kazran!" a voice shouted off-screen. "Kazran!"

The shout woke Sardick and he watched as his father came into the bedroom on screen.

"Kazran, what are you doing?" the man demanded. "What are you doing?"

He peered into the camera as Sardick stood and backed away in fear.

"I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child!" he father said harshly.

"I was just going to make a film of the fish." Young Kazran protested.

"The fish are dangerous!" his father yelled.

"I just want to see them." Kazran pleaded.

"Don't be stupid, you're far too young!" his father replied.

"Everyone at school's seen the fish." Kazran reasoned.

"That's enough!" his father ordered. "You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies."

"The singing works!" the young boy protested. "I've seen it. The fish like the singing."

Sardick walked closer to the wall.

"What does it matter what fish like?" his father scoffed.

"People say we don't have to be afraid of the fish." Young Kazran said. "They're not really interested in us."

"You don't listen to people!" Old Sardick ordered. "You listen to me!"

He backhanded the young boy and his older self reached up to touch his cheek.

"Ow!" his younger self cried. "I'm sorry, Father."

"This is my house!" his father said.

The Doctor walked up behind Sardick as the younger boy in the film laid his head on the table, crying.

"It's okay." He said, resting a hand on Sardick's shoulder. "It's okay."

Sardick jerked away and turned on the Doctor.

"What have you done?" he demanded. "What is this?"

"Found it on an old drive." The Doctor replied. "Sorry about the picture quality, had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paperclip."

"And when that failed, I just plugged it in." Lily said from behind him with a grin.

"Can you let me keep at least a shred of my mystery? My brilliance?" the Doctor asked crossly.

"Where would be the fun in that?" she replied, taking his hand and leading him to Sardick's chair.

She sat him down and kissed his cheek softly.

"Love you, Theta." She said softly.

The Doctor cleared his throat and refocused on Sardick.

"Oh, I wouldn't bother calling your servants, they quit." He said, picking up the newspaper and opening it to read. "Apparently they won the lottery at exactly the same time, which is a bit lucky when you think about it."

"There isn't a lottery." Sardick pointed out.

"Yeah, as I say, lucky." The Doctor replied.

"There's a fog warning tonight." The Elder Sardick said on the film. "You keep these windows closed, understand? Closed!"

"Who are you?" Sardick demanded, looking at the two Time Lords.

"Tonight, I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past." The Doctor replied.

"I'm just along for the ride." Lily added, grinning.

"Mrs. Mantovani will be looking after you tonight." The recording of Kazran's father said. "You stay here till she comes. Do you understand? Do you understand?"

Sardick moved away from them, staring at the video as the Doctor stood up.

"Did you ever get to see a fish back then, when you were a kid?" Lily asked as she watched the man.

"What does that matter to you?" Sardick demanded.

"Look how it mattered to you." The Doctor replied, nodding to the video.

"I cried all night, and I learned life's most invaluable lesson." Sardick told them.

"Which is?" the Doctor asked.

"Nobody comes." Sardick answered. "Get out! Get out of my house!"

"Okay." The Doctor agreed. "Okay. But we'll be back. Way back. Way, way back."

He took Lily's hand and they walked out of the room, through the door the video was playing on. In the next room was the TARDIS. As the sounds of the engines filled the house, the younger Kazran in the videos raised his hand and turned to the window to find the Doctor and Lily standing there.

"See?" the Doctor called, opening the window. "Back!"

Sardick stared at the video.

"Who are you?" Kazran asked.

"Hi, I'm the Doctor!" the Time Lord replied. "This lovely lady is The Phoenix. We're you're new babysitters!"

He jumped down into the room and turned around to lift Lily through the window. As he set her down, she gently kissed him.

"Where's Mrs. Mantovani?" Kazran asked.

"Oh, you'll never guess!" the Doctor replied. "Clever old Mrs. Mantovani, she only went and won the lottery!"

He went to the bed and jumped on it, bouncing into the air. Lily, meanwhile went and hugged Kazran before kneeling in front of him.

"There isn't any lottery!" Sardick protested.

"There isn't any lottery." The younger Kazran said at the same time.

"You've got to stop using that." Lily told her mate. "Look at you! Who woulda thought?"

"If you're my babysitters, why are you climbing in the window?" Kazran asked.

"Cause if we were climbing out, we'd be going in the wrong direction." The Doctor replied. "Pay attention."

"Mrs. Mantovani's always my babysitter." Kazran protested.

"Times change." The Doctor said, as Lily peered into the camera.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Do times change? See…Christmas Past."

"Who are you talking to?" Kazran demanded.

"You." Lily replied, smiling. "Okay, now here's how things are going to work. Since we're here, your past is going to change. But that's alright, because your memories will too! I know, I know, it's scary, but don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

"I don't understand." Kazran said as Lily moved away from the camera to hug him again and the Doctor took her place.

"I'll bet you don't!" the Doctor said happily, pointing at Kazran and then the camera.. "I wish I could see your face."

"But that never happened." Sardick said, turning away from the film. "But it did!"

* * *

><p>"Right, then." The Doctor said, moving around the room. "Your bedroom. Great! Let's see, you're 12 years old, so we'll stay away from under the bed. Cupboard! Big cupboard, I love a cupboard!"<p>

He ran to the cupboard and opened it.

"Do you know, there's a thing called a face spider." The Doctor said. "It's just like tiny baby's head with spider legs, and it's specifically evolved to scuttle up the backs of bedroom cupboards…" he closed the door, "which, yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned."

"Ya think?" Lily asked sarcastically.

"Right, so what are we going to do?" the Doctor asked. "Eat crisps and talk about girls? I've never actually done that, but I bet it's easy. Girls! Yeah? Lily'll help."

"No, I won't." Lily said, grinning. "The girl code prevents me from disclosing our secrets to anyone outside of the sisterhood."

"That's not true." The Doctor said confidently. "Right? Lily, that's not a real thing, right? There's no sisterhood."

Lily just smiled.

"Are you really babysitters?" Kazran asked.

"I think you'll find we're universally recognized as mature and responsible adults." The Doctor said, holding out the psychic paper.

"It's just a lot of wavy lines." Kazran said.

Lily reached out and took the paper from him.

"Huh." She said, studying it. "It's shorted out. We've finally found a lie that's too big for it. I wanna try something." She held the paper back out. "I think you'll find _I'm_ recognized as a mature and responsible adult."

"It's still just wavy lines." Kazran said.

Lily pulled back and glared at the paper as the Doctor chuckled.

"Oh, shut up." She said, slipping it into her back pocket.

The Doctor swallowed his laughter, but kept grinning as he turned back to Kazran.

"Okay, no, not really babysitters, but it's Christmas Eve." The Doctor told him. "You don't want a real one, you want us."

"Why?" Kazran asked. "What's so special about you?"

"Have you even seen Mary Poppins?" the Doctor asked.

"No." Kazran replied.

Lily walked over to the window and leaned against the window edge.

"Good." The Doctor said. "'Cause that comparison would've been rubbish. Fish in the fog, fish in the clouds. How do people ever get bored? How did boredom even get invented?"

He went to the window and wrapped his arms around Lily, resting his chin on her shoulder. She smiled and rested her hands on top of his, leaning her head back onto his shoulder.

"My dad's invented a machine to control the cloud belt." Kazran told them. "Tame the sky, he says. The fish'll be able to come down, but only when we let them. We can charge whatever we like."

The Doctor turned back to face him.

"Yeah." He said. "I've seen your dad's machine."

A large silhouette passed outside the window.

"What?" Kazran asked. "You can't have."

"Tame the sky…" Lily murmured, also turning to look at the boy. "What is it with humans? You're obsessed with finding the most boring outcome you can. Well, forget that. You want to see a fish? Come on, we're going to see a fish."

She climbed out the window and the Doctor smiled.

"Aren't you going to tell me it's dangerous?" Kazran asked.

"Dangerous?" the Doctor demanded, standing on the window edge. "Come on, we're boys! And you know what boys say in the face of danger?"

"What?" Kazran asked.

"Mummy!" The Doctor replied.

Lily poked her head back in.

"Are we going to do this or not?" she asked.

* * *

><p>The sonic screwdriver was tied to a string, beeping intermittently, which was hanging from the ceiling and ran into the cupboard where it looped around the Doctor's finger. He, Lily, and Kazran were all sitting on the floor.<p>

"Are there any face spiders in here?" Kazran asked.

"For your sake, Theta, you better hope there isn't." Lily threatened.

"Nah, not at this time of night." The Doctor said dismissively. "They'll all be sleeping in your mattress. So why are you so interested in fish?"

"Cause they're scary." Kazran replied.

"Ah, a child after your own heart." Lily said, grinning at her mate.

"What kind of tie is that?" Kazran asked him, pointing to the bow tie.

"A cool one." The Doctor replied.

"Spend enough time with him, and you'll hear that answer a lot." Lily whispered loudly to Kazran. "I personally think it's some sort of coping mechanism."

"Don't listen to her." The Doctor told him.

"Why is it cool?" Kazran asked.

"Why are you _really_ interested in fish?" the Doctor shot back.

"My school." Kazran told him. "During the last fog belt, the nets broke and there was an attack. Loads of them, a whole shoal. No one was hurt, but it was the most fish ever seen below the mountains."

"Were you scared?" Lily asked.

"I wasn't there." Kazran replied. "I was off sick."

"Ooh, lucky you." The Doctor said.

He caught the look on the boy's face.

"Not lucky?" he asked.

"It's all anyone ever talks about now, the day the fish came." Kazran said morosely. "Everyone's got a story."

"But you don't." Lily said, commiserating with the boy.

* * *

><p>"I see." The Doctor said on the video as Sardick sat down.<p>

"Why are you recording this?" Kazran asked.

"Do you pay attention at school, Kazran?" the Doctor asked.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, what?" Kazran asked as they sat in the cupboard.<p>

"'Cause you're not paying attention now." The Doctor said.

The string was tugging on the Doctor's finger.

"Shh!" he told them.

* * *

><p>"Now I remember." Sardick said, watching as the Doctor stood and went to open the door. "No, Doctor, you mustn't! Phoenix, stop him!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Doctor, are you sure?" Kazran asked.<p>

"Trust me." The Doctor replied, standing up.

"Okay." Kazran replied.

_I always get a shiver when you say that._ Lily told him as she stood up.

_Good shiver or bad shiver?_ He asked, glancing at her with a grin.

She slowly returned the grin.

_Depends on the situation._ She replied, noticing Kazran looking down at the ground.

She knelt down in front of him.

"Hey, look at me." She told him gently. "See him? He wears that ridiculous tie and doesn't care. Do you trust us?"

* * *

><p>"Yes." Sardick whispered.<p>

* * *

><p>"Yes." Kazran replied, smiling.<p>

"That's why it's cool." The Doctor told him.

* * *

><p>The Doctor looked directly at the camera and Sardick touched the bow tie he was wearing.<p>

* * *

><p>The Doctor slowly entered the bedroom and found a small fish investigating the screwdriver.<p>

"Hello, fishy." The Doctor said softly. "Let's see."

He slowly walked around the edges of the room as Lily stood in the door of the cupboard with Kazran safely behind her.

"Interesting." The Doctor continued. "Crystalline fog, eh? Maybe carrying a tiny electrical charge. Is that how you fly, little fishy?"

"What is it?" Kazran called. "What kind? Can I see?"

"Just stay behind me for right now." Lily told him.

"Is it big?" he asked her.

"Nope, it's just a little one." Lily told him.

The Doctor leaned in closer.

"So, little fella, what do you eat?" he asked.

A shark suddenly swam in and gobbled up the smaller fish…and the screwdriver. A gold wall sprung up between the fish and the Doctor as he jerked back.

"How little?" Kazran asked.

"Erm…" the Doctor replied.

"Uh…" Lily said at the same time, staring at the shark.

"Can I come out?" Kazran asked.

"Um, not yet." Lily told him. "Just…uh…stay in there for a moment."

Without taking his eyes off the shark, the Doctor started to edge his way back to Lily.

_That is a very, very large fish, Theta. _Lily said.

_Yeah._ He agreed. _Can you keep it at bay?_

_Without hurting it?_ She asked. _I have no idea._

"What color is it?" Kazran asked.

"Big." The Doctor replied. "Big color."

He dashed for the door and Lily slammed it shut after them, pulling the shield in to reinforce the door as the shark slammed into it.

"What's happening?" Kazran asked.

"Well, concentrating on the plusses, you've definitely got a story of your own now." The Doctor told him. "Also, I got a good look at the fish, and I understand the fog, which'll help me land a space ship in the future, and save a lot of lives. And I'll get some readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it off the shark in your bedroom."

"There's a shark in my bedroom?" Kazran demanded.

"Oh, fine, focus on that part!" the Doctor sneered.

"Are you kidding me?" Lily demanded, flinching each time the shark hit the shield. "That's the only part I'm focusing on! There's a freaking shark slamming into the door!"

The banging stopped and Lily sighed, sagging.

"Has it gone?" Kazran asked. "What's it doing?"

"What do you call it if you don't have any feet, and you're taking a run-up?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, I hate you." Lily told him.

The Doctor grabbed Kazran and pulled him from the door as the shark slammed into the door, and Lily collapsed as the door broke.

* * *

><p>"No!" Kazran shouted as the video stopped. "It's going to eat us!"<p>

He jumped to his feet and rushed to the wall.

* * *

><p>The Doctor pulled Kazran to the far corner as Lily lay on the floor, silently sending curses at the Doctor. He sighed and reached forward, pulling her to him. The shark, meanwhile, continued to snap at them. Inside its mouth, they could see the green glow of the Doctor's screwdriver.<p>

"It's going to eat us, it's going to eat us, it's going to eat us…" Kazran repeated. "Is it going to eat us?"

"Maybe we're going to eat it, but I don't like the odds." The Doctor replied. "It's stuck, though. Let's see. Tiny brain. If I had my screwdriver, I could probably stun it. What about you, Lily-girl? Are you okay?"

"My head hurts." She told him, leaning back onto his chest. "Believe it or not, the things are not just abstract things I create. They are connected to me. It hurts when they break."

"I know." He told her, kissing her temple. "I'm sorry. Can you stun it?"

"We're dealing with a completely unknown species of fish that swims through the air!" Lily told him, glaring up at him.

"I'm taking that as a no." he said.

"Try 'are you nuts?'." Lily shot back.

"Well, where's your screwdriver?" Kazran asked.

"Well, concentrating on the plusses…within reach." The Doctor replied. "There's a real chance, the way it's wedged in the doorway, of keeping its mouth open."

"There is?" Kazran asked.

"Agree with me." The Doctor told him. "'Cause I've only got two goes, and then it's your turn."

"Two goes?" Kazran asked.

"Two arms." The Doctor replied.

"Theta, please don't get your arms eaten off." Lily told him. "It would put a damper on my wedding."

"I love how you and Amy seem to feel these weddings don't have anything to do with Rory and me." The Doctor said, kissing her quickly. "Right, then! Okay. Geronimo! Open wide!"

He got to his feet and headed for the shark, and Lily moved to wrap her arm around Kazran.

A/N: Sorry this is going so slow! There's something about this episode that makes it harder to fit Lily in the way I want to, so it's taking longer. Anyway, let me know what you think. Just press that little button below this. Yeah, that one. That's it! You know you want to.

Abbey


	4. A Christmas Carol: The Bleak Midwinter

Disclaimer: What's that about copyrights? You think they're stupid? Me too.

Ch. 4:

On the patio outside Kazran's window, the shark was lying on the ground with Kazran and Lily kneeling on either side of it. A little ways away, the Doctor was checking what was left of his screwdriver.

"What's the big fishy done to you?" he murmured. "Swallowed half of you, that's what. Half a screwdriver, what use is that? Bad, big fishy."

"Doctor?" Kazran called. "I think she's dying."

"Half my screwdriver's still inside, but yeah, I think so." The Doctor replied. "Lily-girl, what do you think?"

"What part of unknown, unfamiliar, fish life-form don't you understand?" Lily asked. "I can't even tell you why it dying. All I can tell you is that it's life-force is slipping away."

"I doubt they can survive long outside the cloud belt." The Doctor agreed. "Just quick raiding trips on a foggy night."

"Can't we get it back up there?" Kazran asked, sniffling. "We were just going to stun it. I didn't want to kill it."

"None of us did." Lily assured the boy, reaching over to take his hand.

"You both seem to be forgetting that she was trying to eat you." The Doctor pointed out.

"She was hungry." Kazran said sadly.

* * *

><p>Sardick was sitting, watching the video as tears poured down his cheeks.<p>

"I'm sorry, Kazran." The Doctor on the screen said. "I can't save her."

* * *

><p>"Kazran, sweetheart." Lily said, moving to sit next to the boy and wrap her arm around his shoulders. "We could take her back up there, but she wouldn't survive the trip. We'd need a life-support system to keep her alive, and we just don't have one."<p>

"You mean like an icebox?" Kazran asked. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Kazran led the Doctor and Lily down the stairs, and as Kazran grabbed a lamp, the Doctor was distracted by a Christmas tree.<p>

"Ooh, a tree!" he exclaimed happily.

Lily shook her head and grabbed his hand, pulling him along as they followed Kazran down to the basement.

* * *

><p>The Doctor peered through a small window into a room, lined with containers like the one holding the young woman in the future.<p>

"What is this?" he asked.

"The surplus population." Kazran replied. "That's what my dad calls it."

"Your dad, he's not a fan of Charles Dickens, is he?" Lily asked, moving the Doctor so she could look through the window.

"I don't know." Kazran asked, confused. "Why?"

"No reason." Lily replied. "Him and Charlie would've gotten on great. Two men in serious need of a chill pill."

Lily backed up and the boys tried to turn the wheel to open the door.

"Oh, it's not turning!" Kazran moaned. "Oh, why won't it turn?"

The Doctor tried to use his partial screwdriver on the keypad, but nothing happened.

"Ah, what's the number?" he asked.

* * *

><p>"7258." Sardick whispered.<p>

* * *

><p>"I don't know." Kazran told him.<p>

"This place is full of alarms, it's not just the door." The Doctor said. "I need the number!"

He went back to the wheel.

* * *

><p>"7528!" Sardick repeated.<p>

* * *

><p>"I need the number!" the Doctor repeated.<p>

"I'm not allowed to know until I'm older." Kazran told him.

* * *

><p>"7258!" Sardick shouted.<p>

"Thank you."

He turned to see Lily standing behind him, holding a small stone with a snowflake painted on it. The stone was glowing gold.

"That was what we were after." She told him, smiling. "Very good."

She set the stone back down on the table and disappeared in a flash of gold.

* * *

><p>"7258." Lily told her mate as she reappeared. "7258."<p>

The Doctor quickly punched the number in and the wheel unlocked. They quickly opened the door and Kazran lead them inside.

_You've been using your power a lot. _ The Doctor observed as they walked down the rows.

_If it makes you feel better, I barely used them while I was stuck on Earth._ Lily replied.

He took her arm gently and made her stop and look at him.

_I know you're in control now._ He told her. _But those powers are dangerous. They could be your undoing._

She reached up and gently caressed his cheek.

_I know._ She agreed. _I'll try to scale it back. It's just hard when I know I could solve practically any problem._

_I know it is._ He told her. _But I'm here to help. I'll keep you on the straight and narrow._

_You? _She exclaimed. _Really?_

_What do you mean? _ He demanded.

_Nothing. _she replied, laughing slightly. _It's just a bit like the blind leading the blind._

Lily smiled as he pouted and kissed him swiftly. As she pulled back, a small fish swam between them.

"Ah, there's fish down here, too." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, but only tiny ones." Kazran said from ahead of them. "The house is built on a fog lake. That's how Dad freezes the people."

The Time Lords caught up and found him in front of a chamber.

"They're all full, but we could borrow one." Kazran told them. "Yeah, this one."

The Doctor held up the lamp to reveal the face of the woman they had seen before.

"Hello again." He said.

"You know her?" Kazran asked.

"Why her?" the Doctor asked. "Important, is she?"

"She won't mind." Kazran assured them. "She loves the fish."

Kazran tapped a code into the keypad on the container and a video appeared of the woman in the small window.

"My name is Abigail Pettigrew, and I'm very grateful for Mr. Sardick's kindness." Her video said. "My father…"

"She starts to talk about the fish in a minute." Kazran told them.

"…but I would not allow it." Abigail's video continued. "I could not have chosen this path were it not for the compassion and generosity of the great philanthropist and patron of the poor, Mr. Elliot Sardick, but I'm also surrounded by the fish. The beautiful, iridescent, magical fish…"

As Abigail continued to speak, the Doctor and Lily moved in opposite directions, peering into the containers. Kazran continued to watch the video.

"Why are these people here?" the Doctor asked.

"..they catch the light as they dart through the fog…" Abigail continued.

"What's all this for?" he asked.

"My dad lends money." Kazran said. "He always takes a family member as…He calls it security."

"Your dad sure is a son of a-" Lily started.

"Alyssy!" the Doctor interrupted.

"Theta!" she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Young, impressionable ears!" he exclaimed, covering Kazran's ears.

"Oh, please." Lily said dismissively. "I'm sure he already knows his father is-"

"A very hard man to love, your dad." The Doctor finished, glaring at her. "Not unlike the Phoenix at times."

_What does it say when, of the two of us, I'm acting more responsibly? _He demanded.

_That you've been a bad influence on me?_ She replied, smirking.

"…I am not alone, and I am at peace." Abigail concluded as the Doctor moved off again.

Kazran reached over and shut off the video, lighting up the chamber. He and Lily looked at each other, then at the Doctor, as they heard his screwdriver begin to make noise.

"What's wrong?" Kazran asked as Lily took his hand and led him to her mate.

"Just my half of screwdriver trying to repair itself." The Doctor replied, holding it up as it flashed. "It's signaling the other half."

Realization hit them all at once and Lily turned to bang her head against the nearest container.

"The other half's inside the shark." Kazran said as Lily continued to hit her head.

"Yeah." The Doctor agreed, reaching over to grab the collar of Lily's shirt to stop her. "Sounds like she's woken up. Okay. So it's homing on the screwdriver."

Out of the fog came the shark, it's mouth wide open. Lily reached over and pulled the Doctor down and out of the way.

* * *

><p>"Run!" Sardick yelled.<p>

* * *

><p>Kazran ran through the maze of the container, the shark on his heels.<p>

* * *

><p>"RUN!" Sardick yelled to his younger self.<p>

* * *

><p>Kazran ducked behind a small pillar and the shark swam behind him.<p>

"_In the bleak midwinter, frost wind made moan…"_

Kazran heard the voice singing and sat up.

* * *

><p>Sardick lowered his glass as he listened to the music.<p>

"_Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;_"

* * *

><p>Kazran stood and walked slowly out of his hiding place. Abigail's chamber was open.<p>

"_Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,_"

In the distance, he saw a figure sitting in the fog.

"_in the bleak midwinter, long ago._"

Abigail was sitting next to the calm shark, singing.

The Doctor stumbled out of the rows of chambers with a lot of noise, Lily slapping him upside the head as she followed. They made their way up to where Kazran was standing.

All the while, Abigail continued to sing.

"It's not really the singing, of course." The Doctor said.

"Yes, it is." Kazran replied.

"Nah." The Doctor disagreed.

"The fish love the singing, its' true." Kazran protested.

"Nah." The Doctor repeated. "The notes resonate in the ice, causing a delta wave pattern in the fog." He slapped the back of his neck. "Ow! A fish bit me."

"Serves you right." Lily said distractedly, moving towards the other woman. "Never doubt the singing."

Abigail turned and looked at her, but kept singing as Lily knelt next to her. As she moved to the next verse, Lily joined in, singing a counter melody, her soprano matching Abigail's mezzo perfectly.

"_Angels and archangels may have gathered there,  
>cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;<br>but his mother only, in her maiden bliss,  
>worshiped the beloved with a kiss."<em>

"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed. "That's how the machine controls the cloud belt. The clouds are ice crystals. If you vibrate them at the right frequency, you could align them…" he slapped his neck again. "Ow! Why do they keep biting me?"

"Look, the fish like the singing, okay?" Kazran told him crossly. "Now shut up!"

"Okay." The Doctor replied sullenly.

Kazran stood, entranced, as the woman and Time Lady continued to sing.

* * *

><p>Sardick smiled at the memory. He turned his head and looked at the large portrait of Abigail that was hanging where his father's had been.<p>

"It's bigger on…" he murmured.

* * *

><p>"…the inside." Kazran said in awe.<p>

He and Abigail stood, looking at the inside of the TARDIS in wonder.

"Yeah, it's the color." The Doctor said. "Really knocks the walls back."

"Dork." Lily said fondly as she moved around the console.

"Right." The Doctor said, ignoring her. "Shark in a box, to go."

He tapped the container that was lying on the floor.

* * *

><p>Sardick went to the picture and stared at it.<p>

"Abigail." He murmured.

* * *

><p>The young woman looked around the TARDIS in wonder as the Doctor and Lily set it into motion.<p>

"This is…amazing!" she breathed.

"Nah, this is transport." The Doctor replied. "I keep amazing…out here."

He went to the doors and opened them. Outside, fish swam among the clouds.

* * *

><p>Sardick went to one of the bookcases and pulled back the curtain that hid the lower shelves. He reached in and removed a small chest.<p>

* * *

><p>As the Doctor stood at the doors, Lily went to the chamber.<p>

"Okay, one shark, to go." She said, punching in the code to start the defrost.

Kazran pulled out his camera and began taking pictures. The first was of Abigail, who was looking out at the fish.

* * *

><p>Sardick opened the chest. It was full of pictures and the first one he took out was of Abigail.<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey, look at her go!" Kazran exclaimed as they released the shark.<p>

As she closed the container, Lily noticed some numbers on the front.

"Hey, Abby, this number…" she called. "What's it mean?"

"It pertains to me, ma'am, not the fish." Abigail replied.

"Okay." Lily replied slowly. "But how?"

"The man with you, he's a doctor you say?" Abigail asked. "Is he one of mine?"

"Do you need a doctor?" Lily asked softly.

Abigail just looked at her sadly. Lily was about to push the subject when a bell chimed on the console, distracting her.

"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed, running to the console. "Sorry! Time's up, kids!"

"Why?" Kazran asked.

"It's nearly Christmas Day!" the Doctor replied.

* * *

><p>Sardick looked up at the ceiling, his eyes teary.<p>

* * *

><p>The Doctor, Lily, and Kazran stood in front of the chamber as Abigail climbed back inside.<p>

"If you should ever wish to visit again…" she said.

"Well, you know, if we're ever in the neighborhood…" the Doctor said.

"He comes every Christmas Eve." Kazran interrupted. "Yeah, he does, every time. He promises!"

"No, I don't…" the Doctor started.

Kazran ignored him and closed the door.

* * *

><p>The door opened again and Abigail found the trio standing there, the boys wearing Santa hats and Lily wearing light up antlers.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" they said together happily.

"Doctor!" Abigail replied, smiling.

He led them down the aisle, carrying a harness as Lily skipped alongside him.

"What are we going to do?" Abigail asked.

"The Doctor's got a great plan!" Kazran told her. "Wait till you hear!"

As they moved off, the number on the front of Abigail's container moved from 8 to 7.

* * *

><p>The Doctor stood outside, hooking up the harness to an open, two-wheeled carriage.<p>

"You are out of your mind." Abigail told him. "This will never work!"

"I always say that, and yet, somehow, he always manages to pull it off." Lily said.

She reached up and pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek.

"My brilliant Doctor." She whispered.

He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Right." He said. "Now, don't think shark, think dolphin."

He lifted Kazran into the seat.

"A shark isn't a dolphin!" Abigail protested.

"It's nearly a dolphin." The Doctor shot back.

"No, it isn't." she told him.

"That's where you're wrong, because…shut up." He replied, turning on the screwdriver.

"It could be anywhere." Kazran said, getting down. "Will it really come?"

"No chance." The Doctor replied. "Completely impossible. Except at Christmas."

* * *

><p>The Doctor was at the reins as the shark drew them across the sky.<p>

"How are we going to get back?" Kazran called.

"I don't know!" the Doctor replied.

"Do you have a plan?" Abigail asked.

"I don't know!" the Doctor answered.

Lily let out a whoop as they flew across the city. The others laughed and cheered.

* * *

><p>They stood in the Ice Vault as Abigail once again returned to her chamber.<p>

"Best Christmas Eve ever!" she told them.

"Till the next one!" Kazran told her.

They closed the door and Abigail went back into stasis.

* * *

><p>Sardick sat on the floor, his pictures spread out in front of him.<p>

"New memories." He murmured. "How can I have new memories?"

* * *

><p>Kazran, Lily, and the Doctor opened Abigail's door on the next Christmas.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" they told her.

"Phoenix!" Abigail said happily. "Where to this time?"

"Did we mention?" Lily said, wrapping her arm around Abigail's. "At any point, all of time and space? Cause that's how we roll."

"You're mad!" Abigail said, laughing.

"Damn straight." Lily agreed, smiling.

* * *

><p>Sardick continued to look through the photos.<p>

* * *

><p>The trio opened Abigail's chamber again. This time, the Doctor and Kazran were wearing fezzes, while Lily was wearing a simple tiara.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" they told her as Lily held out a matching tiara.

"Doctor!" Abigail laughed.

* * *

><p>Sardick smiled at a photo of them in front of the pyramids, Abigail standing next to him and Lily on the Doctor's back, both of them laughing.<p>

* * *

><p>Kazran and the Time Lords opened the chamber for the next Christmas. Lily and the Doctor grinned happily, but Kazran, dressed in a scarf, stood there sullenly.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" the Doctor told her.

"Doctor!" she replied.

The countdown reached 4.

* * *

><p>Sardick continued to smile as he made his way through the pictures.<p>

* * *

><p>Kazran was much older now as he stood with Lily and the Doctor, dressed in a suit with a bow tie.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" they told Abigail.

"Kazran!" Abigail exclaimed in surprise.

Lily smirked and elbowed the Doctor as the two young people walked away. Behind them, the numbers moved to 3.

* * *

><p>Lily pulled the Doctor up to the console, laughing as he stumbled into her, wrapping his arms around her. Kazran and Abigail walked behind them, slower.<p>

"You've grown." She said.

"Yeah." He replied.

"And now you're blushing." She told him, smiling.

"Sorry." Kazran said, ducking his head.

"That's okay." Abigail replied.

"So…" Kazran said, drawing attention away from himself. "Doctor, where this time?"

"Pick a Christmas Eve." He told the teen. "I've got them all right here."

"Might I make a request?" Abigail asked.

"Of course you can, sweetheart." Lily said brightly. "Which one do you want?"

"This one." Abigail replied.

* * *

><p>Abigail stood in the street, wearing a hooded cloak as she looks in a window, watching her family. Inside, her sister handed her husband a drink.<p>

"Thank you, darling." The man said, kissing his wife.

Lily walked up to her and wrapped her arm around the younger woman's shoulders as Kazran and the Doctor stood back a ways.

"Who are they?" Kazran asked.

"Her family." The Doctor replied. "The lady's her sister. I met her once, when she was…older."

"Abigail's crying." Kazran whispered.

"Yes." The Doctor whispered back.

"When girls are crying, are you supposed to talk to them?" Kazran asked.

"I have absolutely no idea." The Doctor replied. "And Lily won't give me a straight answer. Speaking of…"

His mate walked over to them and glared at them.

"Kazran, stop whispering with the old man over here and go comfort the girl." She ordered in a whisper.

She pushed him away. The boy joined Abigail at the window.

"My sister's family." She said. "They're so happy."

"They look very poor." He observed.

"They are very poor." Abigail agreed. "Doesn't mean you can't be happy."

"And then why aren't you?" Kazran asked.

Her brother-in-law closed the curtains.

"Because this is the life I can never have." Abigail replied.

"Why not?" Kazran asked.

Abigail took his hand in hers.

"I think you're blushing again." She told him.

The curtains opened again and they saw the Doctor and Lily inside, waving to them.

"Come in!" Lily called.

Still holding hands, the couple went inside.

* * *

><p>The Doctor sat at the table, Lily on the arm of his chair, as he entertained Abigail's nephew with card tricks, and Abigail sat with her sister at the other end, while Kazran helped her brother-in-law.<p>

"Pick a card, any card at all." The Doctor said.

"Every Christmas Eve." Abigail's sister said as she peeled potatos. "I don't understand."

"I'm not sure I do." Abigail replied.

She looked over at Kazran and he smiled. She looked back down, smiling.

"Memorize the card, put it back in the deck." The Doctor instructed. "Don't let me see it."

"Is this what it looked like last year?" the brother-in-law asked, looking at the lights on mantle as Kazran stood behind him, holding the lights.

"It doesn't have to be exactly the same." His wife told him.

Her husband studied them for a moment.

"I'm starting again." He said. "Come on, Kazran, we're starting again."

"That's Sardick's boy, isn't it?" Abigail's sister asked.

"He's not like his father." Abigail stressed.

"His father treats everyone like cattle." Her sister said. "One day, that boy will do the same."

"No." Abigail disagreed. "He's different."

"The three of clubs." The Doctor said, holding up a card.

"No." the boy replied.

Lily snorted and leaned her cheek against her mate's head.

"You sure?" he asked. "I'm very good at card tricks."

"It wasn't the three of clubs." The boy told him.

"Well, of course it wasn't," the Doctor said, throwing away the card, "because it was the seven of diamonds!"

He pulled the card from inside his pocket.

"No." the boy replied.

Lily burst out laughing.

"Oi, stop it!" He told her before turning back to the boy. "You too! You're doing it wrong."

"I see him around the town sometimes." Abigail's sister said. "Never any friends."

"He's got me." Abigail said.

"All those Christmas Eves, you never once came to see us." Her sister said.

"I'm here now." She told her.

"Then stay." Her sister insisted. "Stay for tomorrow, have Christmas dinner with us."

"I can't." Abigail said.

"Well, then." Her sister said, standing up. "Tomorrow's Christmas dinner is cancelled, as my sister refuses to attend."

"Isabella…" Abigail exclaimed.

"Instead…" Isabella continued. "We'll have it tonight."

* * *

><p>They were all sitting around the table. The Doctor sat at the end of the table, his arms crossed and a cracker in both hands, Abigail's nephew holding one and Lily holding the other. Next to Lily was Kazran and Abigail, and across from them was Isabella and her husband.<p>

"Three! Two! One! Pull!" the Doctor called.

Everyone cheered and laughed as the crackers burst open. Inside the son's cracker was a playing card.

"How did you do that?" the boy asked.

"Your card, I believe." The Time Lord said, smugly.

"No!" the boy replied, holding it up.

Lily collapsed.

"Oh, shut up!" he told her.

She reached over and took his face between her hands, kissing him softly.

"Happy Christmas, Theta." She told him, smiling brightly.

He smiled and reached up to take one of her hands, squeezing it tightly, his eyes seeing only her.

"Er, Merry Christmas." Kazran said, holding up his cup in a toast.

"Merry Christmas." Everyone agreed.

Under the table, Kazran and Abigail were holding hands.

* * *

><p>The group stood in the Ice Vault, saying goodbye for another year.<p>

"Best Christmas Eve ever." Abigail said, hugging first the Doctor, then Lily.

"Ah!" the Doctor said. "Till the next one."

"I look forward to it." Abigail said. "Now I'd like to say good night to Kazran."

"Of course." The Doctor said, continuing to stand there. "Well, on you go."

The others all stared at him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh, yes, right! Sorry, we'll, um, we'll go, then." He turned to Abigail. "Good night." He turned to Kazran. "Good luck…night! Good night!"

He backed up and into a container and Lily covered her face, shaking her head.

"Sorry." She said before taking the Doctor by the arm. "Good night, you two."

She dragged her mate away down the aisle. Kazran hesitated for a moment before running after them.

"Doctor!" he called in hushed tones. "Phoenix! I, er, I think she's going to kiss me."

"I'll let you handle this." Lily said, smiling as she moved off, leaving the boys alone.

"Well?" Kazran asked.

"Well, I think you're right." The Doctor said, pushing Kazran back towards Abigail.

"I've never kissed anyone before." Kazran told him. "What do I do?"

"Well…" the Doctor said, wrapping his arm around the young man's shoulder. "Try and be all nervous and rubbish and a bit shaky."

"Why?" Kazran asked.

"You'll be like that anyway." The Doctor told him. "Make it part of the plan. Off you go, then!"

"What, now?" Kazran yelped. "I kiss her now?"

"Kazran, it's this or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver." The Doctor told him. "Don't make my mistakes. Now, go!"

Kazran made his way back to Abigail as Lily moved to the Doctor's side.

"Nervous and rubbish?" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning back to look up at him. "I don't think those are two words I'd use for your…style."

"Oh, really?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What words would you use?"

"Talented springs to mind." She whispered before pressing her lips to his.

A moment later, they pulled apart.

"Back at you." He said, pressing another soft kiss against her lips.

* * *

><p>As the Time Lords distracted themselves, Kazran moved back to Abigail. He stood there for a moment, awkwardly. Finally, she sighed and pulled him into a kiss.<p>

A/N: Okay, first things first. Who's up to date? Can I just say, HOLY CRAP? I can't wait for A Good Man Goes To War!

Okay, now I'm done.

Let me know what you think.

Abbey


	5. A Christmas Carol: Silence All Around

Disclaimer: If I were to give up the Doctor, my soul would cry.

Ch. 5:

Sardick looked at photos from across time and space. New York…Paris…Australia. On the back of one, it said 'California 1952'. It was a photo of the quartet in front of the Hollywood sign. They looked so happy.

* * *

><p>Abigail stood by the pool in a beautiful chiffon white gown, her face sad.<p>

"Abigail!" Kazran called as he approached. "Are you coming back? The Doctor is going to do a duet with Frank and the Phoenix is threatening to hit him over the head if he tries."

He hesitated as he saw her expression.

"Abigail." He said softly. "What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you." She told him.

"A bad thing?" he asked.

"A very bad thing." She replied.

"What is it?" Kazran demanded.

"The truth." Abigail replied simply.

* * *

><p>The Doctor, dressed in a white tuxedo with his tie undone, found them by the pool, kissing.<p>

"Guys, we've really got to go quite quickly." He told them. "I think I just accidentally got engaged to Marilyn Monroe and I'd like to get out of here before Lily can find out."

He stared at them as they continued kissing.

"How do you keep going like that?" he demanded. "Do you breathe out your ears? Hello? Sorry, hello? Guys, she's phoned a chapel, there's a car outside, this is happening now, and-"

"Theta?"

He turned to find his mate, dressed in a floor length, black gown with beaded ¾ sleeves.

"Lily!" he said nervously. "Have I told you how utterly beautiful you look tonight? What with the dress, and the Firepoint, and the latest addition of my ring on your finger. How lucky am I?"

She looked at him shrewdly.

"What did you do?" she demanded.

"What did I do?" he exclaimed. "Why do you always assume I did something? Can't a man tell his fiancé how beautiful she looks without her assuming he did something, which I didn't. Except I did."

As he rambled, her face grew stormy as she saw what had happened in his mind. She turned and strode off and the Doctor winced.

"Lily!" he called after her. "Come on! Lily, you cannot kill Marilyn Monroe! Lily!"

He followed after her, leaving the young couple alone by the pool once again.

"What are we going to do?" Kazran whispered.

"There is nothing to be done." Abigail replied sadly.

* * *

><p>Kazran led Abigail back to her chamber as the Doctor continued to try to get back into Lily's good graces. They were back, dressed like normal, the Doctor in his tweed and Lily in jeans, blue t-shirt, and white vest.<p>

"Honestly, it was a big misunderstanding!" he was telling her as she leaned against a pillar, pouting. "Why would I want Marilyn when I have you? Lily…"

Abigail stepped into the chamber and Kazran tried to keep a happy smile on his face, but failed.

"Good night, Abigail." He told her.

"Good night, Kazran." She replied, her voice breaking.

They slowly let go of each other as Kazran backed away. Finally, he shut the door, locking her inside.

"So, we're good?" the Doctor was saying as he and Lily approached. "You're not mad at me."

"No, I'm not mad at you, Theta." She said with an exasperated sigh. "You're just dumb, but if I ever get my hands on that –"

"There we go!" the Doctor interrupted cheerfully as they joined Kazran. "Another day, another Christmas Eve. I'll see you in a minute, eh? I mean, a year."

"Doctor, Phoenix…" Kazran said. "Listen, why don't we leave it?"

"Sorry, leave what?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, you know." Kazran replied. "This. Every Christmas Eve, it's getting a bit old."

"Old?" the Doctor repeated.

"Well, Christmas is for kids, isn't it?" Kazran said as he untied his bow tie. "I've got some work with my dad now, I'm going to focus on that. Get that cloud belt under control."

"Sorry." The Doctor said, annoyed. "I didn't realize we were boring you."

"Theta." Lily said softly, laying a hand on his arm. "If that's what you want, Kazran, we'll respect your wishes."

She reached into the Doctor's pocket and took out a small stone with a snowflake painted on it. She took Kazran's hand and put the stone in it, folding his fingers around it.

"I've put a piece of my power in there." She told him. "Keep it. That way, if you need us, I'll be able to find you."

Kazran swallowed and clenched it in his hand before nodding.

"Thanks." He said. "And…I'm sorry. It's just…time changes, you know?"

He turned and walked away, leaving the Time Lords alone.

"Not as much as I'd hoped, Kazran." The Doctor murmured.

He glanced at Lily before following the young man. As he approached, Kazran stopped.

"I'll be needing a new one, anyway." The Doctor told him. "What the hell…" he handed Kazran what was left of his screwdriver. "Merry Christmas. And if you ever need us, just activate it. We'll hear you."

"I won't need you." Kazran said harshly.

"What's happened?" The Doctor asked as Lily joined them, her face worried. "What are you not telling us?"

Kazran just walked off.

"What about Abigail?" Lily called after him.

"I know where to find her." He replied.

On her chamber, the number was now on 1.

* * *

><p>Kazran walked out of the Vault, closing and locking his door behind him. His eyes were red with tears.<p>

* * *

><p>Sardick turned to look at the portrait, which was once again his father.<p>

* * *

><p>Kazran was dressed in a somber black suit, his hair slicked down, as he stood with his father, drinking champagne.<p>

"Another Christmas Eve, Kazran." His father said as they turned to look at their machine. "But a very special one. It's complete. Look at it. Sound waves. As simple as that. We can control the clouds, the fog, the fish…"

"Why do we want to control the fish?" Kazran questioned.

"People are cattle." Elliot told him. "If you want to control cattle, you need to control their predators. What's the face for? Look what I'm giving you. The sky, and everything beneath it. Only you and I can control this. This planet is ours!"

Kazran stared at him for a moment.

"Excuse me, Father." He said, setting down his glass and striding away.

He went straight to his room and to his desk. He opened a drawer, and inside was the sonic screwdriver and the snowflake stone. He took the screwdriver out and stared at for a moment. He turned and saw the Doctor and Lily standing at his window, smiling. He quickly strode over and pulled the curtains shut, before walking back to the desk and putting the screwdriver back in the drawer. He was about to shut it when he hesitated. Finally, he pulled out the stone, which was warm to the touch and glowed when he picked it up, and slipped it into his pocket.

* * *

><p>Sardick stood in his room, staring at the drawer that held the screwdriver. The drawer was full of souvenirs from his trips with the Doctor and the Phoenix, all of them gathering dust. He took the screwdriver out and pressed it against his cheek before reaching into his pocket and wrapping his hand around the snowflake stone. It was still warm to the touch.<p>

In the background, he heard the phone ring.

* * *

><p>"Yes, what?" he demanded, walking to the fireplace with the phone. "Oh, Mr. President, we've been through this! It's not going to crash on my house, so what's it got to do with me? Yes, I know. 4,003. As some very old friends of mine once took a very long time to explain, life isn't fair."<p>

He quickly hung up and looked down at the pictures at his feet. One of them was a smiling picture of Abigail. He took the screwdriver out of his pocket and Amy suddenly appeared.

"Hello!" she said.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't think this was over, did you?" Amy asked. "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present."

"A ghost?" Sardick demanded. "Dressed like that?"

Suddenly, Amy was pushed aside by Rory.

"Eyes off the skirt." He ordered.

Amy appeared again, pushing Rory out of the way.

"You turned into a Roman." Sardick told her.

"Yeah." She agreed. "I do that. I also do this."

She disappeared.

"Do what?" Sardick demanded. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, he could hear voices singing Silent Night in the distance.

* * *

><p>Sardick followed the voices to the Ice Vault. He looked through the window and saw a large group of people singing. He keyed in the code and opened the door.<p>

He stared at the singers and Amy reappeared.

"They're holograms." She told him. "Projections, like me."

"Who are they?" he demanded.

"The people on the ship up there." Amy replied. "The once you're going to let die tonight."

"Why are they singing?" Sardick asked.

"For their lives." She told him. "Which one's Abigail? The Doctor told me."

"Did he now?" Sardick sneered.

"He doesn't hold back." Amy said. "And if he does, Lily doesn't. You know them."

"How do I?" Sardick demanded. "I never met them before tonight. Now I seem to have known them all my life. How? Why?"

"You're the only person who can let that ship land." Amy told him. "They were trying to turn you into nice person. And they were trying to do it nicely. I think Lily original plan involved hanging you from the top of the tower by your feet."

"They changed my past." Sardick exclaimed. "My whole life!"

"Time can be rewritten." Amy said.

"You tell the Doctor and the Phoenix, tell them from me, people can't." Sardick said.

He strode forward, breaking up the holograms, only to arrive in front of Abigail's chamber.

"That's Abigail?" Amy asked, following him.

"I would never have known her if the Doctor and the Phoenix hadn't changed the course of my whole life to suit themselves." Sardick said.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" she asked.

"No." he replied.

"Why is she still in there?" Amy asked. "You could let her out any time."

"Oh, yes." Sardick agreed. "Any time at all. Any time…I choose."

He put his hand on the window.

"Then why don't you?" she asked.

"This is what the Doctor and Phoenix did to me." He said softly. "Abigail was ill when she went into the ice. On the point of death. I suppose the rest in the ice helped her, but she's used up her time. All those Christmas Eves with me. I could release her any time I want…and she would live a single day."

He turned back to Amy.

"So tell me, Ghost of Christmas Present, how do I choose which day?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry." Amy told him. "I really am. I'm very, very sorry. But you know what? She's got more time left than I have. More than anyone on this ship."

"Good." Sardick said.

"Rory, widen the beam." Amy ordered.

The room flickered and Sardick found himself on the bridge of the ship.

"Update on engine one…" the Captain was saying.

"How did I get here?" Sardick demanded.

"You didn't." Amy said. "It's your turn to be the hologram. Since you're going to let a lot of people die, I thought you might like to see where it's all gonna happen."

"The singing…" he murmured. "What is it? I don't understand."

"The Phoenix's idea." Rory told him. "The harmonies resonate in the ice crystals. The fish like it. She thought maybe it would stabilize the ship. But it isn't working. It's not powerful enough."

"Why are they still singing, then?" Sardick asked.

"Because we haven't told them." The Captain told him. "I understand you have a machine that controls this cloud layer. If you can release us from it, we still have time to make a landing. Nobody has to die."

"Everybody has to die." Sardick replied.

"Not tonight." Amy disagreed.

"Tonight's as good as any other." Sardick told her. "How do you choose?"

"Doctor?" Amy called.

"Yeah?" the Doctor replied through the phone.

"Are you hearing this?" she asked.

"I can hear." The Doctor said.

"He's here?" Sardick said in surprise. "Where is he? Doctor? Phoenix!"

Rory turned off the hologram and Sardick found himself back in the vault. The Doctor was leaning against a divider, Lily at his side.

"Doctor!" Sardick exclaimed. "Phoenix!"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor told him softly. "We didn't realize."

"All my life, I've been called heartless." Sardick told them. "My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me."

"Better to have a broken heart than to have no heart at all, Kazran." Lily told him sadly.

"Oh, try it." Sardick shot back. "You try it. Why are you here?"

"'Cause we're not finished with you yet." Lily told him, sighing as she walked forward. "I'm afraid you would probably have preferred I just hang you from the tower. So, you've seen past, present…not it's time for the future."

"Fine!" he replied. "Do it! Show me! I'll die cold, alone, and afraid. Of course I will, we all do! What difference does showing me make? Do you know why I'm going to let those people die? It's not a plan. I don't get anything from it. It's just that I don't care. I'm not like you. I don't even want to be like you! I don't and never, ever will care!"

He got right in Lily's face and she held up a hand to keep the Doctor from getting between the man and his mate.

"I don't believe that." she told him, shaking her head.

"Then show me the future." Sardick told her. "Prove me wrong."

"We are showing it to you." She said softly, sadly. "We're showing it to you right now. So what do you think?"

She looked over his shoulder and Sardick turned around. Behind him was his younger self, dressed in pajamas and a robe.

"Is this who you want to become, Kazran?" The Doctor asked the boy.

The two Kazran walked toward each other slowly.

"Dad?" the young one asked.

The older one threw his cane to the side, raising his hand to strike his younger self. In his mind, he saw his father striking him that first Christmas Eve, the first Christmas Eve without the Doctor, Lily, and Abigail, the Christmas Eve where he almost hit Abigail's nephew.

He saw him closing the door on her for the last time.

Then he started to cry.

"I'm sorry." He cried. "I'm so, so sorry." He reached out to his younger self, but Kazran flinched away. "It's okay, don't be frightened." He put his hands on young Kazran's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "I'm…I'm so, so, so…"

"Kazran." Lily interrupted softly. "I'm sorry. We don't have much time."

* * *

><p>"Structural integrity at 30%!" the second pilot called.<p>

"We have five minutes max." the Captain reported. "We need to land!"

Suddenly, the screen filled with static before clearing and revealing the Doctor.

"Hello, hello!" he called. "Ah, hello, everyone. Prepare to lock onto my signal."

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amy demanded.

"I just saved Christmas." He replied, grinning.

"Who saved Christmas?" they heard Lily call from off screen.

"Fine, we saved Christmas!" the Doctor replied. "Can we get back to actually saving it? Don't go away."

The video feed switched off.

"Doctor?" Amy called. "Phoenix!"

* * *

><p>Sardick stood at the controls as the Doctor and Lily walked up, his younger self at his side.<p>

"We good to go, then?" the Doctor asked.

"The controls won't respond." Sardick told him.

"They're isomorphic, tuned to your brainwaves, they'll only respond to you." The Doctor replied.

"They won't." Sardick insisted.

"Oh no." Lily murmured.

"What?" the Doctor demanded.

"We're stupid." She told him. "We're so very stupid."

"Oh no." the Doctor agreed seeing inside her mind.

"What's wrong?" Sardick asked. "Tell me, what is it, what…?"

"It's you." Lily told him. "We've changed you too much. The machine doesn't recognize you anymore."

"But my father programmed it…" Sardick protested.

"He would never have programmed it for the man you are now." The Doctor explained.

"Then what do we do?" Sardick asked.

"Um…" the Doctor said. "Um…I don't know. I don't know."

"There must be something!" the young Kazran insisted.

"This!" Sardick said, pulling out the sonic screwdriver. "You can use this! I kept it, see?"

"What, half a screwdriver?" the Doctor scoffed. "With the other half up in the sky in a big old shark, right in the heart of the cloud layer. We use your aerial to boost the signal, set up a resonation pattern between the two halves…That would work! My screwdriver, coolest bit of kit on this planet. Coolest two bits! Could do it."

"Do what?" Sardick asked.

"My screwdriver is still trying to repair." The Doctor explained. "It's signaling itself. We use the signal, but we send something else."

"Send what?" Young Kazran asked.

The Doctor looked at Lily, who sighed.

"Well?" Sardick asked. "What? What?"

"I'm sorry, Kazran." Lily told him. "I so, so sorry, Kazran."

"I don't understand." He told her.

"We need to transmit something into the cloud belt, something we know works." The Doctor told him. "We need her to sing."

* * *

><p>They stood in front of Abigail's chamber.<p>

"Her voice resonates perfectly with the ice crystals." The Doctor explained. "It calmed the shark. It will calm the sky, too."

"Why can't the Phoenix do it?" Sardick demanded. "Her voice soothed the shark too."

"Because I was singing with her." Lily told him sadly. "I'm good. She's better."

"Could you do it?" he demanded. "Could you do this? Think about it, Doctor. One last day with your beloved. Which day would you choose?"

"I have had to make that choice, Kazran." The Doctor told him, looking at Lily. "But you've got the question wrong."

"What's the question then?" he demanded.

"What day would she choose?" the Doctor replied simply.

The chamber opened and Abigail stepped out.

"Christmas." She answered. "Christmas Day. Look at you." She put a hand on his cheek. "So old now. I think you waited a bit too long, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry." He told her.

"Hoarding my days, like an old miser." She chided him lightly.

"But…if you leave the ice now…" he told her.

"We've had so many Christmas Eves, Kazran." She told him. "I think it's time for Christmas Day."

* * *

><p>"Doctor!" Amy yelled as explosions happened all over the bridge.<p>

"We can't hold this!" the Captain yelled. "Time's up, we're going down."

"Doctor!" Amy yelled again.

"_When you're all alone, silence is all you know."_

The bridge went quiet.

"Captain, I've got…" The second pilot said. "I don't know what I've got."

He switched on the speakers.

"What are you listening to?" the Captain asked.

"This is coming from outside." He replied. "This is coming from the clouds."

* * *

><p>In the street on the planet below, Abigail was holding the Doctor's screwdriver, which was connected to wires running into Kazran's machine.<p>

"Well?" Kazran demanded.

"Well, the singing resonates in the crystals." The Doctor replied. "It's feeding back and forth between the two halves of the screwdriver. One song, filling the sky. The crystals will align, I'll feed in a controlled phase loop, and the clouds will unlock."

"_When you're all alone, silence is all you know._" Abigail sang.

"What does that mean?" young Kazran asked. "What happens when a cloud unlocks?"

Lily wrapped her arm around the boy's shoulders, smiling.

"Something that hasn't happened here for a long time." She replied.

"_When you're along, silence is all you see._"

As she sang, the snow began to fall.

"_When you're alone, silence is all you'll be."_

The Doctor wrapped his arm around Lily's waist, kissing her temple. She smiled and snuggled into his side.

* * *

><p>On the bridge, everyone was silent as they listened to Abigail sing.<p>

"_Give me your heart, come to me._"

"We're flying normally." The first pilot reported in surprise.

"Can we land?" the Captain asked.

"I can even land well." He replied.

Amy grabbed Rory in a hug, sighing with relief.

"Oh, he did it." Amy said. "The Doctor did it."

"Yeah, he gets all the credit." Rory complained.

Amy stared at him.

"I'm just saying, the Phoenix probably had something to do with it too!" he defended himself.

Amy laughed and shook her head before kissing him.

* * *

><p>On the street, young Kazran looked around in wonder, wandering away from the Time Lords. The Doctor smiled, pulling Lily close before dropping her into a low dip. Lily laughed before pulling his head forward to meet hers in a deep kiss.<p>

Kazran slowly walked to Abigail and wrapped his hand around hers as she continued to sing.

"_When you are here, music is all around.  
>When you are near, music is all around.<em>"

She gently reached up and touched his cheek as, around them, people gathered to watch the snow.

"_Open your eyes, don't make a sound._"

Above them, the shark flew over head.

"Hello, my old friend." Kazran called.

The Doctor and Lily led the young Kazran to the TARDIS. Before opening the door, the Doctor turned and smiled at the couple, together at last.

"_Meet in the shadow, meet in the shadow._"

Lily smiled and ruffled young Kazran's hair before herding him into the TARDIS.

"_Meet in the light of your bright shadow._"

The Doctor felt Lily take his hand and turned away from Kazran and Abigail to smile at her. She returned the smile brightly and pulled him into the TARDIS.

"_Meet in the shadow, meet in the shadow._"

As the engines started up, Abigail and Kazran turned to watch the TARDIS disappear.

"_Meet in the light of your bright shadow._"

Where the TARDIS had been, there was a carriage with a harness, just like they had used all those years ago.

* * *

><p>The Doctor was rubbing his nose against his snowman's nose when Lily came up behind him and smashed a snowball into his hair. He turned with a sound of outrage and grabbed her around the waist, tossing her gently into a pile of snow and landing on top of her.<p>

"Must you two act like children?"

The Time Lords looked up to see Amy and Rory walking towards them, still dressed as the Centurion and the Policewoman.

"Ah, yes, you two!" the Doctor exclaimed, leaping to his feet and dragging Lily with him. "About time! Why are you dressed like that?"

"Ah, kind of lost our luggage." Rory replied. "Kind of crash landed."

"Yeah, but why are you dressed like that at all?" the Doctor demanded.

"They really love their snowmen around here." Amy said, changing the subject. "I've counted about 20."

"Yeah, we've been busy." The Doctor said, tickling Lily and making her squirm away.

"At least you remembered the 'we' this time." She said, swatting his hands away, but finally letting him pull her into his side.

"Yeah, yeah, you have been busy." Amy said.

Lily reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you." Amy whispered.

"It was our pleasure." Lily replied, letting her go so she could hug Rory and Amy could hug the Doctor.

"Right, come on, then, let's go!" the Doctor exclaimed as he pulled away.

He began to lead them back to the TARDIS.

"Got any more honeymoon ideas?" Rory asked.

"There's a moon that's made of actual honey." The Doctor replied, unlocking the TARDIS.

"The damn thing's alive and usually hungry!" Lily exclaimed. "And it's not a moon."

"Yeah, but there are some lovely views." He replied.

She shook her head at him.

"Yeah, great, thanks." Rory said sarcastically, going inside.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"Course I'm okay." He replied. "You?"

"Of course." Amy said. "It'll be their last day together, won't it?"

"Everything has to end sometime, otherwise nothing would ever get started." The Doctor replied.

The door opened and Rory stuck his head out.

"Your phone was ringing." He said. "Someone called Marilyn. Actually sounds like THE Marilyn."

"Doctor?" Amy asked as Lily growled.

"No." the Doctor told her, waving his finger at her. "Lily, there will be no killing her!"

"Out of my way." Lily said, pushing her way past Rory. "Miss Monroe and I need to have a conversation."

"Lily!" the Doctor called. "Oh for-Rory warn me if it looks like she's going to do something stupid."

Rory looked confused but went back inside.

"Where are they?" Amy asked. "Kazran and Abigail."

"Off on a little trip, I should think." The Doctor replied.

"Where?" Amy asked.

"Christmas." He answered.

"Christmas?" she pushed.

"Yeah, Christmas." He agreed.

Amy went inside and the Doctor looked up at the sky.

"Halfway out of the dark." He murmured.

Lily stuck her head out of the door.

"Are you sure I can't just maim her a little bit?" she asked, pouting.

He smiled and shook his head, following her inside.

Above them, Kazran and Abigail laughed as they flew across the sky in a carriage drawn by a shark. Straight to Christmas.

A/N: A Christmas Carol is done! What did you guys think? Who's about ready to go nuts waiting for A Good Man Goes To War? Yeah, me too.

So, I was watching the Five Doctors last night, and wanted to bawl practically any time Sarah Jane came on the screen. What does this say about my level of obsession with this show? Nothing good, I'm sure.

Let me know what you thought! And if you want to see Lily's dress, go check out the link on my profile.

Abbey


	6. Time

Disclaimer: WHO CARES WHEN 'A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR' JUST HAPPENED?

Ch. 6:

Lily and Amy walked in, laughing, to find the Doctor underneath the TARDIS console, whistling as he worked.

"Are you breaking things again?" Lily asked, squatting down next to him.

"No." he said, sullenly, as he pushed himself out. "I don't break things. I fix them."

"Uh huh." She said, leaning down to kiss him. "Sure you do."

He glared at her and pushed himself back under. Lily grinned up at Amy and moved around the console. After a moment, Amy squatted down and pulled him back out.

"Can we talk?" she asked him quietly.

"RORY!" the Doctor called, pulling himself back under.

_Lily!_ He called at the same time, silently.

Amy grabbed him, pulling him back out again.

"No." she told him. "Shut up. I've just got a question."

"Everything okay up there?"

Amy looked down to find Rory wearing goggles on the lower level.

"Yep, fine, no problem." The Doctor called back as Lily chuckled.

"What are you doing?" Amy demanded as the Doctor pulled himself back under the console.

"Helping the Doctor." He husband replied. "Um, it's humming. Is that okay?"

"It's fine, Rory." Lily told him, pressing a few buttons. "We're entering conceptual space."

"Imagine a banana, or anything curved." The Doctor told him.

"Really, don't." Lily told him. "It's not curved and it's nothing like a banana, but he is like an idiot, if that helps."

"Hush." He told her. "But she's right, forget the banana."

"Uh, is he helping you fly the TARDIS?" Amy demanded.

The Doctor ignored her, pushing himself out and getting to his feet.

"Attach thermocouplings two, seven, and eleven." He ordered. Like I showed you."

"How come he gets to have a go, but you never let me have a go?" Amy demanded, following him as he moved over to Lily.

"Uh, Doctor, don't." Rory told him. "Seriously, don't. I let her drive my car once."

"Yeah, to the end of the road." Amy scoffed.

"Yeah, according to Amy, there was an unexpected house." Rory shot back.

"I can do you one better." Lily told him. "He one time claimed the 1980's jumped in front of him. You want to blame someone for shoulder pads, look no further."

"Hey!" the Doctor protested, walking over to whisper. "We agreed to never talk about that again."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. He groaned and went back to work.

"Yeah, well, he's just jealous because I passed my test first time." Amy said smugly.

"You cheated." Rory told her. "You wore a skirt."

"I didn't wear a skirt." Amy replied.

"Well, luck would've worked too." Rory muttered.

"No, no, I did wear a skirt, but it was any old skirt." Amy continued.

"Lily, have you ever seen Amy drive?" Rory asked.

"Why am I thinking I don't want to?" Lily replied. "Better yet, that I should be off planet when it does occur?"

"Probably best, because neither did her driving instructor." Rory said.

"Actually, it was this one." Amy said, still continuing on her train of thought. "It was this skirt."

Suddenly the TARDIS lurched. As they all grabbed hold to stay on their feet, Lily grabbed her abdomen, groaning in pain. The lights went out and Lily fell to the ground, her skin rippling gold.

"Lily." The Doctor called, quickly moving to her side.

"It hurts, Theta." She said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Amy asked, moving over to them.

"Rory, did you drop a thermocoupling?" the Doctor demanded, moving Lily so she was leaning against the railing, her skin still rippling.

"Sorry." Rory called back.

"How did you do that?" the Doctor demanded angrily. "I told you 'Don't drop them'! I specifically mentioned 'Don't drop them'!"

He stood up and started moving around the console.

"Actually, it's my fault." Amy told him, moving to kneel next to Lily.

"Of course it wasn't your fault." The Doctor told her.

"It kind of was her fault." Rory spoke up.

"How could it be her fault?" the Doctor demanded.

"Because it was my skirt, my husband, and your glass floor." Amy replied.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment.

"Oh, Rory!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry." The man replied.

Lily groaned again.

"Why is Lily in pain?" Amy said, slightly afraid to touch the Time Lady.

"Lily is connected to the TARDIS." The Doctor said. "She a part of it. But we've landed, emergency materialization. We should be fine, should've locked on to a safe space available."

Rory walked up to join them just as the Doctor got the lights back on.

"Then why is Lily still in pain?" Amy asked.

"Because of that." Lily said through clenched teeth.

The others looked over to find another TARDIS sitting in the control room. She pulled herself up and the Doctor wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her over to the ramp, as Rory and Amy followed.

"Doctor, what's happened?" Amy asked.

"The safest spot available." The Doctor replied, helping Lily to sit in the jump seat. "The TARDIS materialized inside its self."

He moved down towards the new TARDIS.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Rory asked.

"Take a guess." Lily told him.

"No?" Rory replied.

"Give the man a cigar." Lily said, breathing deeply.

The Doctor moved towards the TARDIS, resting his hand on the shell.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Amy demanded.

"I have absolutely no idea." he replied.

"Good, don't do it." Lily told him.

"I'll be fine." He told her.

"Of course you will." Lily agreed. "'Cause you're going to come back over here."

"Sure." The Doctor replied distractedly.

Instead, he quickly opened the door and went inside, coming through the other set of doors immediately.

"Oh crap." Lily moaned.

"Okay, that is a bit weird." Amy said.

The Doctor opened his set of doors again and stuck his hand through. It appeared through the doors of the new TARDIS.

"That is actually pretty cool." Rory said.

The Doctor walked back through the doors and appeared outside the new TARDIS.

"Oh, I'm glad you're entertained, Rory, now that we'll be stuck her for all eternity." The Doctor exclaimed. "At least you won't be bored."

Lily groaned and her skin rippled again. The Doctor quickly moved past the other couple and kneeled in front of her, pulling out his screwdriver to scan her.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

"Like my insides are folding back on themselves." She told him.

"That's probably because that's what's happening to the TARDIS herself." He said gently, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"Wait, what, we're stuck here?" Amy asked.

"The inside of the TARDIS is now joined to the outside of the TARDIS." The Doctor answered, looking up at her. "Worse than a time loop, a space loop. Nothing can enter or leave this ship again."

He looked back at his mate.

"And I don't think Lily can survive this long." He said softly.

Lily leaned forward and leaned her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, the main doors of the TARDIS opened and another Amy strode through.

"Okay, kids." She said. "This is where it gets complicated."

A/N: Here's Time, but that's not what I care about.

**If you haven't seen A Good Man Goes To War, look away.**

HOLY EVER LOVING CRAP!

RIVER IS THEIR DAUGHTER! I TOTALLY CALLED IT! YES!

So, so, so, so, so, very good. I loved every moment of it, especially when Rory went all Centurion on the Cybermen's asses. And him with his daughter. So, so sweet.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and what you thought of the episode.

Abbey


	7. Space

Disclaimer: Still in shock. I'll get back to you.

Ch. 7:

Lily pulled herself to her feet, holding her abdomen tightly, as they all stood there, staring at the new Amy.

"Who the hell are you?" the original Amy asked slowly.

"I'm you, from your future." The Future Amy replied.

"Tell me exactly what's happened." The Doctor ordered.

Lily skin rippled again and she staggered.

"Rory, help her." The Doctor ordered. "Now, tell me."

The other man wrapped his arm around the Time Lady's waist and tried to get her to sit back down, but she shook her head.

"Well, the exterior shell of the TARDIS has drifted forwards in time." Future Amy told him. "If you step into the box now, you step into the control room a tiny bit into the past."

"I don't understand." Present Amy said.

"Neither do I." Future Amy muttered.

"But you just said it." Present Amy insisted.

"No, I'm just repeating it." Future Amy told her. "I'm just remembering what I heard myself saying when I was standing where you are now, and repeating it. Repeating this too. And this. And this."

"Uhh, I still don't understand." Present Amy groaned.

"You still don't." Amy told her.

"Well, this explains why the pain's getting worse." Lily muttered.

"How?" Rory asked.

"As the TARDIS's drift further apart, her core gets pulled apart." Lily said, wincing as her skin rippled again. "My power is derived from the heart of the TARDIS. As it gets pulled apart, apparently so do I."

"Okay, when does this Amy step inside the box?" the Doctor asked Future Amy. "We need to maintain the timeline."

"Ah, just as soon as she's slapped Rory." Future Amy replied.

"Okay." Present Amy agreed.

"Ha, no." Rory disagreed. "Why do I get slapped?"

"Because you're a man?" Lily suggested, groaning.

"Good to see your sense of humor is still with us." The Doctor told her.

She waved her hand at him, beckoning him closer. He walked up the ramp to stand in front of her and her hand snaked out to grab him by the shirt.

"Fix this." She growled at him. "Now."

She glared at him for a moment longer before letting go.

"Right then." The Doctor said, swallowing as he adjusted his bow tie. "Rory has to get slapped because we have to stick to the established chain of events. One mistake, the whole time line could collapse. We'd end up with two Amy Ponds forever. Then what would you do?"

Rory stood there for a minute before turning and opening his mouth to say something to his wife. Following his train of thought, she gasped and slapped him.

"Told you it was because he's a man." Lily said smugly.

"Okay, you, into the police box, now." The Doctor ordered, pushing Amy towards the box.

She walked to the doors, but stopped and turned back.

"What, and then I become her?" she asked.

"Yes, go now!" the Doctor ordered, taking Lily's face in his hands and studying her.

Amy started to go through the doors but stopped again.

"Do I really look like that?" she asked her rapidly approaching self.

"Yeah." The other Amy said, leaning against the box. "Yeah, you do."

"Mmm." Amy said, smiling. "I'd give you a driving license."

"I bet you would." Her other self agreed.

"Ohhh." The Doctor sighed. "This is how it all ends. Pond, flirting with herself. True love at last. Oh, sorry, Rory."

"Absolutely no problem at all." Rory said weakly.

"Now, Amy!" Lily ordered. "Before I come down there and drop kick you into the past."

Amy sighed and turned back to her other self.

"What's the first line?" she asked.

"Okay kids, this is where it gets complicated." The other Amy repeated for her past self.

"Gotcha." Past Amy said, going inside.

The door closed and Amy looked at the others.

"So, is that it?" she asked, running up the ramp. "Are we okay now?"

"No, we're still trapped." The Doctor replied.

Suddenly, the TARDIS doors opened again, and, this time, Amy and Rory came through.

"Oh for the love-" Lily moaned as he skin rippled again.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded.

"You told us to go into the police box." Future Rory told him.

The Doctor looked around in confusion.

"Well, from your point of view, you're about to tell us to get into the police box." Future Rory clarified. "From our point of view, you just told us to get into the police box."

Present Rory shook his head in confusion.

"Which is why we got into the police box." Future Rory continued rambling. "Which is why we're…here."

"Do I have to remember all of that?" Present Rory asked.

"Yeah, it sort of just happens." His other self told him.

"Hi." Present Amy said, waving to her future self.

"Hi!" her future self replied, smiling brightly.

"Hey, stop that!" the Doctor ordered.

"How happy am I that Jack's not here?" Lily muttered, covering her face.

"You two, into the police box, now, run." The Doctor ordered, shoving the couple down the ramp.

"So what now?" Amy asked as their past selves disappeared into the police box.

"You two, stay where you are." The Doctor ordered as he and Lily moved to the console.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"I'm setting up a controlled temporal implosion." The Doctor replied. "It's the only way to reset the TARDIS. But unless I find exactly the right lever to control the implosion…we're all going to die."

"You don't know which lever?" Amy asked, incredulous.

"He never knows which lever." Lily muttered.

"So not the moment." The Doctor told her. "And it doesn't matter because I'm about to find out."

The doors opened again, making Lily groan.

"Will you stop doing that?" she shouted.

"Sorry, love." The new Doctor told her. "Now, the wibbly lever!"

"The wibbly lever!" the present agreed. "Thank you!"

He quickly ran to the console and pulled the correct lever before running to the police box and ducking inside. As soon as the door shut, the TARDIS inside the TARDIS began to dematerialize. When it was gone, Lily's skin stopped rippling and she sank into the jump seat with a sigh.

"Okay, we're back in normal flight." The Doctor said. "The TARDIS is no longer inside its self, the localized time field is no longer about to implode and rip a hole in all causality, and neither is Lily. But just in case…Pond, put some trousers on."

He strode away from the couple and up the ramp to his mate.

"I hate you." Lily said as he pulled her to her feet.

"No you don't." the Doctor replied, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Jerk." She said, sighing as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

_Feeling better?_ He asked.

Lily smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

_Much._ She replied as the Ponds joined them.

She smiled and pulled away.

"Where to next?" she asked.

A/N: Okay, first I would like to apologize to anyone who got an unwelcomed spoiler. I really thought the bold face type telling you to look away if you hadn't see 'A Good Man Goes To War' would be enough. I'll be more careful in the future.

Second, this will be the last chapter for a while, so I expect you all to review on this! I'm still thinking about doing the Sarah Jane episodes, but if I do they will be in a separate story, because I'm going to do both the one with Ten and the one with Eleven, and that way I won't have to worry about fitting them into the established stories.

So, let me know what you all thought!

Abbey


	8. The Impossible Astronaut: Surprise Visit

Ch. 8:

"Out of my way!"

A man in restoration dress strode through the door, pushing a servant aside. He reached another set of doors and pulled on them to find them locked.

Inside, the Doctor's clothes were cast over a stool.

"Doctor!" the man yelled through the door. "Doctor!"

Near the door stood a painting of the Doctor in a god-like pose, holding a trident in his right hand and surrounded by clouds. A red swath of cloth was all that was preserving his modesty.

"Doctor!" the man shouted again.

The door finally burst open and the man swept into the room, sword drawn, with two others.

"Where's the Doctor?" he demanded.

The artist, a woman, laughed nervously.

"Doctor who?" she asked.

There was a muffled sneeze and the man used the tip of his sword to lift the hem of the woman's dress. A very naked Doctor peered out.

"You know, this isn't nearly as bad as it looks." He told them and then winced. "Would would it take for you to not mentioned this to my mate?"

* * *

><p>Rory stood in the kitchen, unpacking groceries, while Amy read aloud from a book.<p>

"At the personal intervention of the King, the unnamed doctor was incarcerated without trial in the Tower of London." She read to him.

"Okay, but it doesn't have to be him." Rory replied.

"Two nights later a magical sphere some 20 feet across was seen floating away from the tower, bearing the mysterious doctor aloft." Amy continued. "Guards in the tower later reported a female voice yelling at the mysterious doctor as she took him away."

"Okay…"Rory relented. "It's them."

"There's more." Amy said.

* * *

><p>A group of British POWs crawled through a tunnel, the Doctor at the head of the line and Lily at the end.<p>

"Doctor, what can you see?" one prisoner asked.

The Doctor popped his head through a hole in the roof.

"Is the commandant's office painted a sort of green color with a bit flag on the wall?" he asked.

Alarms began to blare and beams from a search light made it through the tunnel.

"I think the answer's probably yes." The Doctor said.

"Theta…" Lily sighed.

He quickly pulled back as they heard shouts in German and the sound of barking dogs.

* * *

><p>"It's like they're being deliberately ridiculous, trying to attract our attention." Amy said, slamming the book shut as she lay next to Rory on the couch, watching Laurel and Hardy on the TV. "Are you watching this again?"<p>

"I've explained the jokes." Rory told her.

The doorbell rang and she got up.

"So what are you saying?" her husband called. "Do you really think they're back there, trying to wave to us out of history books?"

Rory looked down at the book, missing the Doctor appearing on the screen, waving at the camera and joining Laurel and Hardy in their dance. A second later, he marched off screen and came back, dragging a reluctant Lily with him. He pulled her to him and she smiled softly as he twirled her.

"It's the sort of thing they'd do." Amy replied, taking a letter from the postman. "Thanks."

She walked back into the living room.

"Yeah, but why?" Rory asked.

"He said they'd be in touch." Amy told him.

"Two months ago." He pointed out.

"Two months is nothing." His wife replied. "They're up to something, I know they are. I know him."

She opened the letter and looked at it in confusion.

"What is it?" Rory asked. "Amy?"

"A date, a time, a map reference." She replied. "I think it's an invitation."

"From who?" he asked.

"It's not signed." She answered. "Look, TARDIS blue!"

She tossed it to him.

* * *

><p>A blue envelope landed on a bed inside a cell. River Song reached down and picked it up, opening it and smiling as she read it.<p>

* * *

><p>Alarms blared as men raced down the hall and a guard spoke on the phone.<p>

"You'd better get down here, sir." He said. "She's doing it again. Dr. Song, sir. She's…packing. Says she's going to some planet called…America."

* * *

><p>A yellow school bus drove down a deserted stretch of desert road. It stopped and Amy and Rory got off, both carrying backpacks.<p>

"Thanks!" Amy called.

"You're very welcome." The Driver replied.

"Uh, this is it, yeah?" Amy asked. "The right place?"

The bus drove off.

"Nowhere, middle of?" Rory said. "Yeah, this is it."

"Howdy!"

They turned and as the Doctor lying on the hood of a red 1960's vintage station wagon.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted.

"Ha-ha!" the Doctor exclaimed, getting off the hood. "Pond One and Pond Two!" He grabbed Amy in a hug. "Hello, Ponds, come here!"

"So someone's been a busy boy then, eh?" Amy asked, smiling.

"Did you see me?" the Doctor asked excitedly.

"Of course!" she replied. "Stalker!"

"Flirt!" the Doctor shot back.

"Husband." Rory interjected.

"And Rory the Roman!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Oh, come here!"

He grabbed him in a hug.

"Speaking of, where is Lily?" Amy asked. "You didn't leave her behind again, did you? Because I'm not protecting you from her."

"Oh, she'll be along shortly." The Doctor replied, reaching up to straighten his hat.

"Hey, nice hat." Rory told him.

"I wear a Stetson now." The Doctor told him. "Stetsons are cool."

A gunshot was heard and a bullet hit a gold shield as they all ducked. There was a flash of light and Lily, dressed in pair of black pants with purple suspenders, a black vest over a purple shirt, her hair a mass of black and purple, appeared, hands on hips.

"What have I told you about ruining his fun?" she asked, looking over their shoulders.

They turned to see River blowing on the muzzle of her gun.

"Hello, sweetie." She said.

"River." Lily said strictly.

"I know, I know." River said, waving her hand. "Only you get to ruin his fun. Nice to see you, too, Phoenix."

* * *

><p>They were all inside a dinner, the Doctor and River in a booth, comparing notes, as Lily kneeled in the booth behind the Doctor, drinking a root beer float through a straw as she read over his shoulder, and Amy and Rory got Cokes at the counter.<p>

"Right then, where are we?" River asked, flipping through her diary. "Have we done Easter Island yet?"

"Yes, I've got Easter Island!" The Doctor confirmed.

"They worshipped you there!" River said. "Have you seen the statues?"

"Seen them?" Lily replied. "We've got one of the damn things in the TARDIS!"

Rory and Amy walked over to join them.

"Jim the Fish." The Doctor said, flipping through his diary.

"Oh, Jim the Fish!" River repeated. "How is he?"

"Still building his dam." The Doctor replied.

"Sorry, what are you three doing?" Rory asked.

"They're time travelers, so they never meet in the right order." Amy explained. "They're syncing their diaries. So what's happening, then? Because you've been up to something."

"We've been running…" the Doctor told them. "Faster than we've ever run, and I've been running my whole life. Not it's time for us to stop. And tonight, I'm going to need you all with me."

"Okay, we're here, what's up?" Amy asked.

"A picnic!" Lily said happily. "And then we're going to go on a trip."

"Somewhere different, somewhere brand new." The Doctor added.

"Where?" Amy asked.

"Space…"

'_The final frontier._' Lily mouthed to River, who chuckled.

The Doctor elbowed his mate.

"1969." He finished.

* * *

><p>The Doctor stretched out on a large picnic blanket with Amy, Rory, and River sitting around the edges.<p>

"Salut!" The Doctor toasted.

"Salut!" the others replied.

"So when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked.

"And since when do you drink wine?" Amy asked.

"I'm 1,103 – I must have drunk it some time." The Doctor replied, raising the bottle to his lips.

Lily came up behind him and pulled the bottle from his hands.

"Every time you get it in your head to drink wine, it never ends well for the wine." She told him, sitting down in front of him.

"Lily…" The Doctor whined.

Lily sighed and grabbed a glass to pour him some before handing it to him.

"This way you won't contaminate the bottle." She told him.

The Doctor grinned and took a big gulp before spitting it out.

"Oh, wine's horrid!" he complained as Lily took the cup back. "I thought it would taste more like the gums."

"1,103?" Amy asked. "You were 908 the last time we saw you."

"You've put on a couple of pounds." The Doctor shot back. "I wasn't going to mention it."

Lily elbowed him as Amy looked up and saw a figure up on the dunes.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Who's who?" Rory asked.

Amy looked back at him, shaking her head slightly.

"Sorry, what?" she asked.

"What did you see?" he asked. "You said you saw someone."

"No, I didn't." Amy replied.

"Ah!" The Doctor exclaimed. "The moon, look at it! Of course, you lot did more than look, didn't you? Big silvery thing in the sky, you couldn't resist it. Quite right."

"The moon landing was in '69." Rory said. "Is that where we're going?"

"Tons of other things happened in '69." Lily said as the Doctor pulled her back to lean against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. "More than anyone remembers."

"Human beings…." The Doctor scoffed. "I thought we'd never get done saving you."

A pickup pulled up behind them and an older man stepped out. The Doctor kissed Lily's cheek gently before getting up and holding his hand up in a wave.

"Who's he?" Amy asked.

Rory and River got to their feet.

"Oh, my God!" River breathed.

Amy got to her feet, looking with the others down at an astronaut standing on the shore of the lake. Lily finally stood up, wrapping the Doctor's hand tightly in hers.

"You all need to stay back." The Doctor told them seriously. "Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?"

He started to walk away, but Lily refused to relinquish his hand. He paused and walked back to her, gently cupping her cheek.

"I love you." He whispered, just loud enough for the other three to hear.

She nodded and he bent to kiss her, pulling away quickly as she tried to deepen it. River moved to stand next to The Phoenix as the Doctor moved away.

"That's an astronaut." Rory said. "That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake. Look."

The Doctor stood in front of the astronaut.

"Hello." He said softly. "It's okay, I know it's you."

The astronaut opened its visor, but the others couldn't see its face.

"Well then…" the Doctor said.

The others watched in silence as the Doctor spoke with the astronaut. He then bowed his head as the as the astronaut raised its arm.

"What's he doing?" Amy whispered.

The astronaut fired and the Doctor staggered backwards.

"Doctor!" Amy screamed, trying to run forward, but Rory and River stopped her as Lily fell to her knees. "No!"

"Amy!" River shouted. "Stay back! The Doctor said stay back!"

The astronaut fired again and the Doctor fell to his knees.

"No!" Amy yelled again.

"You have to stay back!" River told her.

"No!" Amy screamed.

The Doctor stood as regeneration energy began to waft from his hands.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted.

The Doctor looked over to his friends.

"I'm sorry." He said.

His head fell back as the regeneration fires began to overcome him. The astronaut fired again and the Doctor collapsed on the ground.

"Theta!" Lily screamed, surging to her feet and running towards her mate, the others on her heels.

"Doctor, please!" Amy yelled.

Lily collapsed next to the Doctor, taking his face between her hands as River and Amy kneeled next to them. River used her hand held device to take a reading of the Doctor's vitals.

"River…" Amy breathed. "River!"

The device whirled and beeped.

"River…" Amy repeated.

River abandoned the device as she got to her feet and began firing at the astronaut until she ran out of ammunition. Lily leaned her head against the Doctor's, tears running down her cheeks.

"Of course not." River muttered.

"River, he can't be dead." Amy begged, crying. "This is impossible."

"Whatever that was, it killed him in the middle of his regeneration cycle." River replied. "His body was already dead. He didn't make it to the next one."

"Maybe he's a clone or a duplicate or something." Amy sobbed.

The man from the truck walked down to them.

"I believe I can save you some time." He told them. "That most certainly is the Doctor, and he is most certainly dead. He said you'd need this."

The man set a gas tank at the Doctor's feet.

"Gasoline?" Rory asked.

"A Time Lord's body is a miracle." River told them. "Even a dead one. There are whole empires out there who'd rip this world apart for just one cell. We can't leave him here. Or anywhere."

Lily sat up and looked up at River, her eyes glowing gold, and River nodded. She rocked back on her heels and stood up, staggering away.

Amy took her place, stroking the Doctor's face.

"Wake up!" she ordered. "Go on, wake up, you stupid bloody idiot!" She rested her head on his chest. "What do we do, Rory?"

"We're his friends." River said. "We do what the Doctor's friends always do." She picked up the gas can. "As we're told."

"There's a boat." Rory said, looking around. "If we're going to do this…let's do it properly."

* * *

><p>They stood on the shore of the lake as the boat floated away in flames. Lily stood at the very edge of the lake, apart from the others.<p>

"River." She called.

_Bang_

Amy and Rory turned to stare at River in horror as she lowered her gun and Lily fell to her knees.

"What did you do?" Amy gasped.

"What she asked me to do." River replied simply.

Rory started to move to Lily, but River held him in place as Lily held up a hand to stop him. A second later, she exploded in gold light and when their eyes cleared, she was gone.

"You killed her." Amy whispered.

"The Doctor was the only one who controlled the Phoenix, kept her powers from controlling her." River said. "Without him, she becomes a danger to the universe. She understood that…I understood that. So I did was I was asked by the last High Priestess of Gallifrey. To let her go with dignity."

She took a deep breath and turned to the old man.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Why did you come?"

"Same reason as you." He replied.

The man pulled an envelope from his pocket. An envelope that matched the ones they all had received. After a moment, River pulled out hers and looked at him.

"Dr. Song…Amy…Rory." He said. "I'm Canton Everett Delaware III. I won't be seeing you again. But…you'll be seeing me."

He picked up the gas can and headed back to his truck. River watched him go before turning back to Amy and Rory.

"Four." She said.

"Sorry, what?" Rory asked.

"The Doctor numbered the envelopes." She replied simply.

A/N: Okay, I know it's been forever, but Moffat really kind of screwed me. But I think I've got it under control again. Let me know what you guys thought.

Abbey

9


	9. The Impossible Astronaut: To DC

Disclaimer: I own the Doctor and you don't! Ha ha ha ha!

Ch. 9:

River, Amy, and Rory went back to the diner, River explaining as they went.

"You got three, I was two, Mr. Delaware was four." She told them.

"So?" Rory asked.

"So where's one?" River asked him.

"You think he invited someone else?" He asked.

"Well, he must have." River replied. "He planned all of this to the last detail."

"Will you shut up?" Amy demanded. "It doesn't matter."

"He was up to something." River said. "They both were."

"They're dead." Amy shot back. "You shot her!"

"Space 1969, what did he mean?" River continued, ignoring her.

"You're still talking, but it doesn't matter." Amy said.

"Hey, it mattered to them." Rory told her.

"So it matters to us." River added.

"They're dead." Amy said.

"But they still need us." River told her. "I know. Amy…I know."

"Like you knew Lily wanted you to shoot her?" Amy demanded harshly.

"Yes." River replied calmly. "But right now we have to focus."

Rory looked around and spotted another envelope sitting on a table.

"Look." He said, moving to the man behind the counter. "Excuse me, who was sitting over there?"

"Some guy." The man replied.

"The Doctor knew he was going to his death, so he sent out messages." River said, picking the envelope up. "When you know it's the end, who do you call?"

"Your friends." Rory replied. "People you trust."

"Number one." River said, holding the envelope up. "Who did the Doctor trust most?"

At that moment, the back door opened and Lily and the Doctor strolled in, hand in hand. The Doctor had a straw in his mouth and this Lily was dressed in a plain black t-shirt, plaid vest, and jeans and her hair was black with blonde tips.

Amy, Rory, and River stared at them as the Doctor and Lily stopped. The Doctor smiled and pointed at them and Lily grinned brightly.

"This is cold." River told them, both of their smiles falling. "Even by your standards, this is cold."

"Or 'Hello', as people used to say." The Doctor told her.

"Doctor?" Amy asked softly.

"I just popped out to get my special straw." He said. "It adds more fizz."

Amy walked up to him and started circling them as Rory moved to stand in front of Lily, just staring at her.

"You're okay." Amy said, poking the Doctor. "How can you be okay?"

"Of course I'm okay, I'm always okay." The Doctor said, hugging her.

"Rory?" Lily asked. "Can you please stop staring at me? It's kind of freaking me out."

Rory shook his head and wrapped her in a tight hug. Lily looked confused, but returned the hug.

"I'm the king of okay." The Doctor continued. "Oh, that's a rubbish title, forget that title."

He let her go as Rory let Lily go.

"Rory the Roman, that's a good title." The Doctor said, hugging the other man. "Hello, Rory!"

He let him go and turned to River.

"And Dr. River Song…" He said. "Oh, you bad, bad girl, what trouble have you got for me this time?"

River slapped him. A second later, Lily had River's arm twisted painfully behind the archeologist's back.

"Lily, let her go." The Doctor said, rubbing his face.

Lily did so reluctantly, pushing River so she stumbled slightly as the Time Lady moved to her mate's side.

"I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet." The Doctor said lightly.

"Yes, it is." River replied shortly.

"Good." He replied, taking Lily's hand. "Looking forward to it."

"I don't understand." Rory said. "How can you be here?"

He poked Lily in the shoulder and she swatted at him.

"We were invited." The Doctor replied. "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume, otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence."

"River, what's going on?" Amy asked.

"Amy, ask him what age he is." River ordered.

"That's a bit personal." The Doctor protested.

"Tell her." River told him. "Tell her what age you are."

"909." The Doctor replied.

"Yeah, but you said…" Amy protested.

"So where does that leave us?" River asked. "Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?"

"Who the hell is Jim the Fish?" Lily demanded.

"I don't understand." Amy said.

"Yeah, you do." Rory told her.

"I don't!" the Doctor exclaimed. "What are we all doing here?"

"We've been recruited." River explained. "Something to do with space, 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware III."

"Recruited by who?" Lily asked crossly as the Doctor walked away from them.

"Someone who trusts you two more than anybody else in the universe." River replied.

"And who's that?" the Doctor demanded, turning back.

"Spoilers." River said.

Lily growled and started marching towards River, but the Doctor just sighed and grabbed the back of her shirt.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked around the console while Lily sat on the railing alternating between picking at her fingernails and glaring at River.<p>

"1969, that's an easy one." The Doctor said. "Funny how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches. Now then, Canton Everett Delaware III, that was his name, yeah?"

Amy left and went underneath the console.

"How many of those can there be?" The Doctor continued. "Well, three, I suppose."

River followed Amy.

"Rory, is everybody annoyed with us for some reason?" Lily asked, hoping down to stand next to the Doctor.

"I'll find out." Rory replied.

He left and the Doctor looked at Lily, who shrugged.

* * *

><p>Amy was sitting cross-legged on the floor as Rory joined them, standing next to River.<p>

"Explain it again." His wife said.

"The Doctor and Lily we saw on the beach were future versions, 200 years older than the ones up there." River told her.

"But all that'll still happen?" Amy asked. "They'll still die?"

"We're all going to do that, Amy." River replied.

"We're not all going to arrange our own wake and invite ourselves and then get our friends to pull the trigger." Rory pointed out. "So the Doctor in the future, knowing he's going to die, recruits his younger self and his mate and all of us to…to what exactly? Avenge him?"

"Mm-mm, avenging's more Lily's style, not his." River said.

"Save him." Amy said.

"That's not his style either." Rory said.

"We have to tell them." Amy insisted, standing up.

"We've told them all we can." River told her. "We can't even tell them we've seen their future selves. They've interacted with their own past. It could rip a hole in the universe."

"Except he's done it before." Amy protested.

"And, in fairness, the universe did blow up." Rory pointed out.

"But they'd want to know." Amy insisted.

"We can't tell them." River told her. "The Phoenix is the High Priestess of Gallifrey."

"So?" Rory asked.

"The Priestesses were charged with protecting the timelines." River explained. "The Phoenix lets the Doctor get away with things like this, but she won't hesitate to do whatever she needs to preserve the timelines. Even if that means getting rid of us. She won't…can't let us go if she thinks we've contaminated the timelines, and whatever is going on, her future self thought it was important enough to let the laws slide, so we need to trust her and keep their secret."

The other two stared at her and a second later, the Doctor stuck his head down over the edge.

"I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no-one to stand around, looking impressed, except Lily and she's never suitably impressed." He told them. "What's the point in having you all?"

He got back up and River shook her head.

"Couldn't you just slap him sometimes?" she asked.

River and Rory headed for the stairs.

"River, we can't just let them die." Amy called after them. "We have to stop it. How can you be okay with this?"

"The Doctor's death doesn't frighten me, nor does my own." River told her. "There's a far worse day coming for me."

"Worse than helping Lily commit suicide?" Amy asked.

River just turned and walked away.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked around the console, showing off, as he talked to the group.<p>

"Time isn't a straight line, it's all bumpy-wumpy." He said.

Lily reached over and slapped him upside the head and he glared at her.

"I didn't say wibbly-wobbly!" he told her.

"I'm making you a list." She replied. "It's going to be of all the stupid terms you've made up over the years and then I'm going to make you sign something saying that you promise to never use them again. Bumpy-wumpy."

She grumbled the last part and he smirked at her.

"As I was saying." He continued, turning back to the others. "There's loads of boring stuff, like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then there are Saturdays, big temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The TARDIS can't resist them, she loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, cause that's space in the '60s, and Canton Everett Delaware III, and this is where she's pointing."

He turned the scanner and they all saw the date.

"Washington DC, April 8th, 1969." Amy read. "So why haven't we landed?"

"Because that's not where we're going." Lily replied.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked.

"Home!" The Doctor replied. "Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies. Dr. Song, back to prison. Me and Lily, we're going to spend some quality time with Torchwood. Or possibly go take some biplane lessons in 1911. Family of biplanes, one or the other."

He flopped into the chair, rubbing his forehead and Lily moved to sit on the arm as the others approached. Lily ran her fingers through his hair and he looked at the others, annoyed.

"What?" he demanded. "A mysterious summons? You think I'm just going to go? Who sent those messages? I know you know. I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."

"You're going to have to trust us this time." River told him.

"Ha!" Lily exclaimed.

"Trust you?" the Doctor scoffed. "Sure."

He stood and walked over to River.

"But first of all, Dr. Song, just one thing…" he said. "Who are you? You're someone from my future, getting that, but who?"

She didn't answer.

"Okay…" He continued. "Why are you in prison? Who did you kill? Hmm? Now, I love a bad girl, me, but I've already got Lily, and she's got the bad girl angle covered, so trust you? Seriously?"

"Trust me." Amy told him.

"Okay." The Doctor replied, walking over to face her.

"You have to do this, and you can't ask why." Amy told him.

"Are you being threatened?" he asked her softly. "Is someone making you say that?"

"No." Amy replied.

"You're lying." He said.

"I'm not lying." She shot back.

"Swear to me." He insisted. "Swear to me on something that matters."

Amy paused for a moment.

"Fish fingers and custard." She said finally.

The Doctor stared at her.

"My life in your hands, Amelia Pond." He finally replied.

"Thank you." River said.

"No, hang on." Lily protested. "I get that you and Amy have this bond, Theta, and I respect that. And I understand that you trust her, but I'm not convinced. I'm not about to let us walk into this on the word of Amy when she's obviously been influenced by River Song! I don't trust that woman any further than I could throw her!"

"In my defense, you could probably throw me pretty far." River spoke up.

"Shut up." Lily replied crossly.

"Lily." Rory said softly.

She turned and looked at the man she had claimed as her companion.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her.

Lily hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding.

"Then trust me now." He continued. "You need to do this. You need to trust me, and Amy, and yes, River. But most of all, you need to trust the Doctor. And you need to do this."

Lily sighed and ran her hand over her face.

"I am so going to regret this." She muttered. "Fine. Let's go see Canton Everett Delaware III. "

"Canton Everett Delaware III!" the Doctor repeated. "Who's he?"

* * *

><p>Canton Everett Delaware sat at a bar, nursing a drink, when two larger men in trench coats and hats approached him.<p>

"Who wants to know?" he asked.

"Your boss." One of the men replied.

"I don't have a boss anymore." Canton replied.

"Maybe you want to tell that to the President of the United States." The other man told him, taking the drink from his hand.

* * *

><p>River stood in front of the scanner.<p>

"Ex-FBI, got kicked out." She read.

"Why?" The Doctor asked.

* * *

><p>The two men sat in the front of the car as Canton sat in the back, talking on the phone.<p>

"I understand you have a problem with authority." The President told him.

"Thank you." Canton replied.

"It's not a compliment, son." The President replied.

* * *

><p>"Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting." River continued.<p>

"Yeah, 1969, who's President?" The Doctor asked.

"Ooo!" Lily said, pushing river out of the way so she could use the keyboard. "Finally, a reason to use all that knowledge I amassed growing up as an American. You know, we could go places other than England every once in awhile. We haven't been to America in ages."

"Well, here you go." The Doctor said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Welcome home, Miss Carter."

Lily smiled and hit enter.

"_I am not a crook!_"

She chuckled.

"I love that clip." She said.

* * *

><p>"This is a personal matter." The President continued. "I need someone on the outside, someone with FBI training, but is not in contact with them."<p>

"I'm flattered." Canton replied.

"You were my second choice for this, Mr. Delaware." The President told him.

"That's okay." Canton said. "You were my second choice for President, Mr. Nixon."

He looked out the window as they arrived at the White House.

* * *

><p>"Richard Milhous Nixon." River read as Lily relinquished the screen. "Vietnam, Watergate…There's some good stuff too."<p>

"Not enough." The Doctor muttered.

"Hippy!" River told him.

"Archaeologist." The Doctor shot back.

"Insane people." Lily told them.

The Doctor grinned and River just shook her head.

* * *

><p>Nixon sat behind the Resolute Desk and Canton sat in a chair directly in front of him.<p>

"Every day, wherever I am, I get a phone call." He told the ex-FBI agent.

"People can't just call you, Mr. President." Canton pointed out.

"It's a direct call every time." Nixon continued. "Every day for the last two weeks, usually late at night."

"Man or woman?" Canton asked.

"Neither." Nixon replied. "Listen."

He reached over and switched on a tape recorder.

* * *

><p>"Okay, since I don't know what we're getting into, I'm being discreet." The Doctor said. "Putting the engines on silent."<p>

He flipped a switch and walked away as a loud metallic screeching fills the room. Lily's eyes flashed and another switch flipped, making the screeching stop.

"Did you do something?" he asked, looking between Lily and River.

"Not me, love." Lily said innocently.

"Just watching." River added.

The Doctor continued walking around and Lily glanced at River, rolling her eyes, and River smiled.

"Putting the outer shell on invisible." The Doctor told them. "Haven't done this in a while, big drain on the power."

"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Rory asked.

The Doctor switched on a lever with a grin and a blinding spotlight turned on. River leaned over and pushed a lever.

"Very nearly." She said.

"Er, did one of you touch something?" the Doctor asked.

"We're just admiring your skills, Theta." Lily said. "Jeez, you're paranoid."

"You might learn something." He said, waving a finger at them.

"I'm sure we will." Lily told him and River snorted.

"Okay." The Doctor said, banging the scanner. "Now, I can't check the scanner, it doesn't work when we're cloaked. Um, just give us a mo."

He ran to the doors, but stopped when the others tried to follow.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you lot, wait a moment." He told them. "We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow."

He moved to the doors again and Lily followed.

_What did I just say? _He demanded.

"Oh, it's cute how you thought that applied to me." Lily said, walking through the doors.

The Doctor sighed and followed her out.

A/N: So what's up with Lily being nice to River? Well…nicer. Wanna find out? Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing. By the way, 48 reviews on the last chapter? I love you guys!

Abbey

10


	10. The Impossible Astronaut: To FL

Disclaimer: Please, please, please! All I want is a Time Lord of my own. Is that too much to ask?

Ch. 10:

The Doctor and Lily stepped out of the TARDIS and found themselves in the Oval Office and not alone. In front of them, Canton and President Nixon had their backs turned to them, listening to the recording of the phone call.

"Hello?" The recording of Nixon's voice said. "Who is this? This President Nixon. Who's calling? Is this you again?"

"Mr. President?" a young voice asked.

"A child?" Canton asked.

The Doctor took a step forward, ignoring Lily as she tried to hold him back.

"This is the President, yes." The recording continued.

"I'm scared, Mr. President." The child said. "I'm scared of the Space Man."

"A little girl?" Canton asked.

"Boy." Nixon replied.

"How can you be sure?" the other man asked.

"What space man?" the recorded Nixon asked. "Where are you phoning from, where are you right now? Who are you?"

The Doctor took a small notebook from his pocket and started taking notes as Lily threw her hands in the air.

"Jefferson Adams Hamilton." The child said.

"Jefferson, listen to me…"

The phone hung up and all that was left was the dial tone.

"Surely this something the Bureau could handle, sir?" Canton asked.

"These calls happen wherever I am." Nixon replied. "How do I know the Bureau isn't involved? I can't trust any…"

He turned and saw the Doctor taking notes and Lily with one hand on her hip and the other over her face. Canton stood and turned as well. The Doctor and motioned for the two men to continue as he continued to write. Finally, he looked up to see them staring at him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Hello! Bad moment?"

He started to walk backward and Lily shook her head.

"Oh, look, Lily, this is the Oval Office." He said. "We were looking for the…Oblong Room. We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll just be off then, shall we?"

He turned and walked into the cloaked TARDIS as Nixon reached over and pressed a button on his desk for security.

"Seriously?" Lily asked, looking down at her mate.

* * *

><p>The TARDIS rocked as the Doctor walked into it.<p>

"Every time!" River muttered.

* * *

><p>"Every time!" Lily continued as The Doctor got up.<p>

"It's cloaked!" he protested.

Lily opened her mouth to respond right Canton crashed into the Doctor, knocking him to the floor.

"Love, in case you didn't see it, you were just tackled by an ex-FBI agent." She said, looking down at him again.

"Really?" he ground out. "No, stop that! A little help here?"

"Oh, I think you're doing fine." Lily replied, smirking.

* * *

><p>River swung the scanner over.<p>

"He said the scanner wouldn't work." Rory pointed out.

"I know." River replied. "Bless!"

The scanner wires sparked.

* * *

><p>"Ow!" the Doctor shouted.<p>

The Secret Service entered, two of whom were the ones that had brought Canton to the White House.

"Lock down, lock down!"

* * *

><p>River got the scanner working and it turned on just in time to see the Secret Service run into a gold shield around Lily.<p>

"Oh, so they're not allowed to force you to the ground, but their allowed to shove my face into the floor?" The Doctor demanded.

"Yep." Lily replied. "Hey, River, you got the scanner working yet?"

"Oh, I hate them." River muttered.

* * *

><p>"No, you don't." Lily replied.<p>

"Get the President out of here!" Canton ordered. "Sir, you have to go with them now!"

"River, make her blue again!" The Doctor yelled.

* * *

><p>River flicked some switched and levers to shut off the cloaking.<p>

* * *

><p>As the TARDIS became visible, Canton and the other men stumbled back, staring at the box. The Doctor pulled away from them and moved behind Lily shield.<p>

_Please lower your shield._ The Doctor said.

Lily looked up at him, confused.

_Why? _ She asked.

_Just, please._ He asked her.

She still looked confused, but did as he asked.

"What the hell is that?" Nixon demanded.

The Doctor moved behind the desk and made himself comfortable at the desk, putting his feet up as Lily moved to lean against the desk behind him.

"Mr. President!" he called in a drawl reminiscent of his mate's.

Lily reached over and slapped him on the shoulder, but he just grinned at her.

The agents spun and pointed their guns at him.

"That child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening." The Doctor continued. "Never mind, the answer's yes. I'll take the case! Fellas, the guns, really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States, parked a big blue box on the rug. You think you can just shoot me?"

"Um, honey." Lily said, leaning forward. "They're Americans. Just like me."

"Don't shoot, definitely no shooting!" The Doctor said, standing up.

River, Amy, and Rory all stepped out of the TARDIS with their hands up.

"Don't shoot us either." Rory said. "Very much not in need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up."

"Who the hell are you?" Nixon demanded, stepping forward.

"Sir, you need to stay back." Canton told him.

"But who…but who are they?" the President demanded. "What is that box?"

"It's a Police Box, can't you read?" the Doctor demanded. "I'm your new undercover agent, on loan from Scotland Yard. Code name, the Doctor. This is my partner, The Phoenix."

He pointed to Lily, who gave a sarcastic little wave.

"And these are our operatives, The Legs, the Nose, and Mrs. Robinson." The Doctor continued, pointing to Amy, Rory, and River in turn.

"I hate you." River told him.

"No, you don't." the Doctor replied.

"Who are you?" Nixon demanded.

"Boring question." The Doctor replied. "Who's phoning you, that's interesting. 'Cause Canton Three is right, that was definitely a girl's voice. There's only one place in America she can be phoning from."

"Where?" Canton asked.

"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr. Delaware." One of the Agents ordered.

"You heard everything I heard, it's simple enough." The Doctor said. "Give me five minutes, I'll explain."

He sat back down at the desk.

"On the other hand, lay a finger on me, or my friends, and you'll never, ever know." He continued.

"How'd you get it in here?" Canton asked, looking at the TARDIS. "I mean, you didn't carry it."

"Nifty, huh?" Lily said, smirking.

"Love it." Canton replied, also smirking.

"I like him." Lily said to the Doctor. "Can I keep him?"

"I like you guys too." Canton replied.

"Do not compliment the intruder." The agent ordered.

"Five minutes?" Canton asked, ignoring the other man.

"Five." The Doctor confirmed.

"Mr. President, that man and woman are a clear and present danger." The agent pressed.

"Mr. President, that man and woman walked in here with a big blue box and three of their friends, and that's the man they walked past." Canton said. "One of them's worth listening to. What say we give him five minutes, see if he delivers."

"Thanks, Canton!" The Doctor said.

"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself." Canton continued.

"Not so thanks." The Doctor muttered.

"Sir, I cannot recommend…" the agent insisted.

"Shut up, Mr. Peterson." Nixon interrupted. "All right."

"Five minutes." Canton stressed.

"I'm going to need a SWAT team ready to mobilize, street level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, 12 jammy dodgers and a fez."

"Jammy dodgers, yes, and make it 24." Lily said. "The fez, no."

"Lily." The Doctor whined.

"I can't keep Canton, you can't have a fez." Lily replied.

The Doctor huffed.

"Get him his maps!" Canton ordered.

* * *

><p>Later, the Oval Office was strewn with large street maps and everyone was looking at one.<p>

"Why Florida?" Canton asked.

"That's where NASA is." Lily said, sitting on the desk as she munched on cookies. "She mentioned a space man. You wanna find a space man, you go to NASA. Also…we have another lead."

"Space Man?" Amy whispered to River. "Like the one we saw at the lake."

"Maybe." River replied, also whispering. "Probably."

Amy looked through the open doorway and saw the same creature she saw at the lake, flashing back to that moment.

"I remember!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

Rory moved in front of her, blocking her view of the alien.

"Amy?" he asked. "What do you remember?"

He moved again and the creature was gone.

"I don't know, I just…" Amy said.

She grabbed her stomach.

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory exclaimed.

"Amy?" River called.

"Amy, are you alright?" Lily said, jumping off the desk and moving to Amy's side as the Doctor looked on in concern.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine, I'm just…feeling a little sick." She said, heading to the door. "Excuse me, is there a toilet, or something?"

"Sorry, ma'am, during this procedure, you must remain within the Oval Office." Peterson told her.

"Shut up and take her to the rest room." Canton told him.

Peterson nodded to another agent.

"This way, ma'am."

"Thanks." Amy replied.

Rory went to follow, but Peterson stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Your five minutes are up." Canton said.

"Yeah, and where's my fez?" The Doctor shot back.

"Hopefully in a dumpster somewhere." Lily muttered, picking up her cookies again.

* * *

><p>The agent lead Amy to the bathroom and tried to follow her inside.<p>

"Actually, I can usually manage this alone." Amy told him, going inside.

Inside, was the creature.

"I saw you before." She said. "At the lake…and here. But then I forgot. How did I forget? What are you?"

A toilet flushed and a woman stepped out a stall.

"Get back!" Amy shouted. "Stay back from it!"

The woman turned and screamed when she saw it, but then laughed.

"Oh, my god, what is that, is that a mask?" the woman asked. "Is that a Star Trek thing? Ben, is that you?"

"Get back from it, now!" Amy told her.

The woman turned and looked at her.

"Back from what, honey?" the woman asked.

"That!" Amy said, pointing.

The woman turned back and screamed again.

"Oh, my god, look at that." She said. "Is that a Star Trek mask? Ben, that's gotta be you. Hang on, did I just say all that?"

"No, please, you've got to stay back!" Amy pleaded.

The woman turned back to Amy.

"Back, honey?" she said. "Back from what?"

The lights began to flicker.

"Oh, those lights." The woman continued. "They never fix them."

"Look behind you!" Amy told her.

"Honey, there is nothing…."

The creature reached out with its arm and its mouth opened. The woman looked at the creature again as it shot a bolt of electricity from its fingers. The woman screamed and disintegrated.

"You didn't have to kill her, she couldn't even remember you!" Amy cried. "How does that work? We can only remember you while we're seeing you, is that it?"

She used her phone to snap a picture.

"Why did you have to kill her?" she demanded.

"Joy." The creature told her. "Her name was Joy. Your name is Amelia. You will tell the Doctor."

"Tell him what?" Amy demanded as it advanced on her.

"What he must know." The creature replied. "And what he must never know."

"How do you know about that?" Amy whispered.

"Tell him." The creature repeated.

Amy rushed out of the bathroom and into the arms of the surprised Secret Service agent.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm…I'm fine." Amy replied. "Much better, thanks."

"What's that?" the agent asked, spotting her phone.

"It's my phone." Amy said distractedly.

"Your phone?" the agent demanded.

"I have to tell the Doctor." Amy said.

"Tell him what, ma'am?" the agent asked.

"Sorry." Amy said, shaking her head. "I don't know why I said that."

"This way, ma'am." The agent said, leading her back to the Oval Office.

* * *

><p>The phone on Nixon's desk began to ring.<p>

"The kid?" Canton asked.

"Should I answer it?" The President asked.

"Here!" the Doctor exclaimed, pointing at the map. "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from. See? Obvious when you think about it."

"You, sir, are a genius." Canton said, peering at the map as Amy and the agent returned.

"Oh, Canton, now why did you have to go and say that?" Lily complained. "You have no idea the lengths I go through to keep his ego at a manageable size!"

"Mr. President, answer the phone." Canton said, ignoring her, to which she just stuck out her tongue.

"Hello." Nixon said, picking up the phone. "This is President Nixon."

"It's here!" the child cried over the phone. "The Space Man's here. It's gonna get me. It's gonna eat me!"

The Doctor grabbed his jacket and Lily's hand and they made their way to the TARDIS. Amy, Rory, and River entered first while the two Time Lords addressed the group of Americans.

"There's no time for a SWAT team, let's go!" The Doctor told them.

"Tell her that help is on the way, Mr. President." Lily said. "Tell her we're coming."

She quickly turned and went inside the TARDIS.

"Canton, on no account follow us into this box and close the door behind you." The Doctor said, following her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Canton demanded, following them.

"Mr. President, please help!" the child cried as the TARDIS began to disappear. "Please help me!"

"Jefferson, it's all right." Nixon told her. "I'm sending my best people."

* * *

><p>Canton stood by the door, looking around in stunned amazement.<p>

"Jefferson isn't a girl's name, or her name either." The Doctor said. "Jefferson Adams Hamilton…River?"

"Surnames of three of America's founding fathers." She answered.

Lily, the Doctor, and River were all moving around the console, putting the TARDIS in flight.

"Lovely fellas." The Doctor said. "Two of them fancied me."

_No, they didn't._ Lily mouthed to the others when the Doctor turned his back before pointing to herself and nodding, making them chuckle.

Down by the doors, Canton turned around, his mouth hanging open.

"Rory." Lily called.

"Yeah, right." Her companion replied, moving over to Canton. "Are you okay? Coping?"

"The President asked the child two questions." The Doctor continued. "Where and who are you? She was answering the where."

"It's bigger on the inside." Canton said.

"You get used to it." Rory replied.

"Now, where would you find three big historical names in a row like that?" the Doctor asked.

"Where?" Amy asked.

"Oh, why do you encourage him?" Lily asked.

"Because it annoys you so." Amy replied with a grin.

"Why you – !" Lily sputtered, but also grinned.

"Here!" the Doctor said, ignoring them both. "Come on!"

He ran for the door, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her after him, as Amy and River followed, but Canton stopped them.

"It's er…" Canton trailed off.

"Just listen to Rory, Canton." Lily told him kindly. "He'll explain it."

"Why's it always my turn?" Rory asked as the others continued out the door.

"'Cause you're the newest." Amy replied, kissing him before leaving.

Rory sighed and rested a hand on Canton's shoulder.

A/N: Let me know what you guys thought! It's so nice to be writing Lily and the Doctor again!

Abbey


	11. The Impossible Astronaut: Surprise Again

Disclaimer: Don't make me laugh. Of course the Doctor is mine. And if you insist on coming near me with that self hugging jacket, I shall file a restraining order against you.

Ch. 11:

The Doctor sat at a desk, waving a small American flag, in a dirty and cluttered warehouse.

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

Lily moved to the window and looked out.

"About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Centre." The Doctor answered. "It's 1969, the year of the Moon. Interesting, don't you think?"

"Ooo, can we-?" Lily started.

"No." The Doctor interrupted.

Lily glared at him.

"I'm not saying we go up and introduce ourselves, but couldn't we just go observe from a distance?" she asked. "It's been ages since we were them."

"Lily." The Doctor said.

"Fine." She huffed. "Spoilsport."

"What are they talking about?" Amy asked River.

"The Moon landing." River replied. "It's one of the Phoenix's favorites, not in any small part because there are past regenerations of her and the Doctor there."

"Can we get back on topic?" The Doctor asked.

"Fine." Amy said, turning on her flashlight as River began to can the area. "Why would a girl be here?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "Lost, maybe."

River picked up the phone and looked at it.

"The President asked where she was, and she did what any lost little girl would do." Lily said from her place at the window. "She looked out the window."

She raised the blinds and they saw the street sign outside. Jefferson, Hamilton, and Adams.

"Streets." Amy said. "Of course, street names!"

"The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction, and Lily, you and Dr. Song have got that face on again." The Doctor said.

"What face?" Both Lily and River said at the same time.

Lily glared at River, who just smiled, and finally just shook her head before returning her attention to her mate.

"The 'he's hot when he's clever' face." The Doctor said, smirking.

"This is my normal face." River said while Lily now glared at the Doctor.

"It is." The Doctor agreed.

"Oh, shut up." River said.

"Not a chance." He replied.

"Theta." Lily said.

"Yes, Alyssy?" he shot back.

"You do remember that you share a bed with me, right?" she asked.

"Yeah." He said slowly.

"Then shut up." Lily said.

"Right." He agreed.

Lily smirked and River laughed as Amy just stared at them.

The Doctor picked the phone receiver up and Canton and Rory made their way out of the TARDIS.

"We've moved." Canton sputtered. "How, how can we have moved?"

"Rory, you haven't even gotten to space travel yet?" Lily sighed.

"I was going to cover it with time travel." He replied, shutting the TARDIS door.

"Time travel?" Canton repeated weakly.

"Brave heart, Canton." The Doctor said. "Come on!"

He took Lily's hand and pulled her with him to explore, and Amy and River followed.

"So we're in a box, that's bigger on the inside and it travels through time and space?" Canton summed up.

"Basically." Rory replied.

"How long have Scotland Yard had this?" Canton asked.

They followed after the others.

"It's a warehouse of some kind." River said. "Disused."

"You realize this is definitely a trap, right?" Lily said blandly.

"I noticed the phone, yes." River replied.

"What about it?" Amy asked.

"It was cut off." River replied. "So how did the child phone from here?"

"Well, as long as we're all on the same page." Lily said, wrapping her arm around the Doctor's and leaning her head against him.

He looked down at her and smiled.

"But why would anyone want to trap us?" Amy asked.

"Don't know." The Doctor replied. "Let's see if anyone tries to kill us, and work backwards."

"Now why would a little girl be here?" River asked.

"I don't know, let's find her and ask her." The Doctor said.

"Is there anything you _do _know?" Lily asked, smirking at him.

"Shut it, you." He told her.

Lily just laughed.

As they moved further in, they found an operating table that seemed to be littered with organic components.

"It's non-terrestrial, definitely alien, probably not even from this time zone." River said, scanning the table.

"Which is odd, because…look at this!" The Doctor said.

Nearby, there was a pile of boxes that had gotten the Doctor's attention.

"This is Earth tech." Lily said, looking at the stuff. "60's vintage. This isn't just Earth tech, it's the height of Earth tech."

"Very contemporary." The Doctor agreed. "Cutting edge. This is from the space program!"

"Stolen?" River asked.

"What, by aliens?" Amy demanded.

"Apparently." The Doctor replied.

He picked up a helmet and put it on.

"Why?" Amy asked. "If you can make it to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?"

"Maybe 'cause it's cooler." He replied, his voice muffled by the helmet before he lifted the visor. "Look how cool this stuff is!"

"Cool aliens?" Amy repeated skeptically.

"Well, what would you call me?" the Doctor asked.

"An alien." Lily said, pushing the visor back down as she passed.

"Oi!" he protested, his voice muffled again.

Rory and Canton joined them as the Doctor took of the helmet.

"I, er, I think he's okay now." Rory told them.

"Back with us, Canton?" Lily asked, smiling.

"Like your wheels." He replied.

"That's my boy!" the Doctor said, patting his shoulder as he passed. "So come on – little girl, let's find her."

Lily grinned and kissed Canton on the cheek as she followed her mate.

River, meanwhile, had moved over to the operating table. She examined it, lifting a cable that dripped something slimy when he held it up.

"River…" Amy said softly, following her.

"I know what you're thinking." The other woman said.

"No, you don't." Amy replied.

"You're thinking if we can find the Space Man in 1969, and neutralize it, then it won't be around in 2011 to kill the Doctor." River said.

"Okay, lucky guess." Amy relented.

"That's only because I was thinking it too." River admitted.

"So let's do it." Amy said.

"It doesn't work like that." River explained. "We came here because of what we saw in the future. If we try and prevent the future from happening, we create a paradox, and we're back to the Phoenix wiping us from existence to preserve the time line and I have put a lot of effort in keeping her from killing me over the years, so I'm against that."

"Time can be rewritten." Amy said.

"Not all of it." River replied.

"Says who?" Amy demanded.

"Who do you think?" River asked.

She followed the cables off the table and over to a manhole cover.

"What this?" she asked.

"We can still save him." Amy whispered.

"Doctor!" River called over her. "Phoenix! Look at this."

She pushed the cover aside as the two Time Lords joined her.

"So where does that go?" The Doctor asked.

River quickly ran a scan.

"There's a network of tunnels running under here." She told them.

"Any life signs?" Lily asked.

"No, nothing that's showing up." River replied.

"Those are the worst kind." The Doctor said. "Be careful."

"Careful?" River said, climbing into the manhole. "Tried that once, ever so dull."

"Shout if you get in trouble and I'll come save you." Lily said, smirking at River. "That is if I don't get distracted by something more important. You know, like paint drying. You might want to yell loud."

"Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer." River replied, returning the smirk. "Now there's a spoiler for you!"

"Way too much information!" Lily called after her as she disappeared down the hole.

"So what's going on here?" Canton asked.

"Nothing…" The Doctor replied. "She's just a friend."

"I think he's talking about the possible alien incursion." Rory said, leaning over and Lily smacked the Doctor upside the head.

"Okay." The Doctor agreed, rubbing his head.

He moved off to the table and Lily smiled after him fondly. She wrapped her arm around Rory's shoulders and they followed him.

* * *

><p>River reached the bottom of the ladder and used her flashlight to continue following the cable. The light from her torch began to wake the sleeping aliens that were surrounding her.<p>

* * *

><p>Canton was standing with Amy, examining some of the equipment.<p>

"So…" he said. "I was in a bar having a drink. Tell me honestly, am I still there?"

"'Fraid not." Amy replied.

River appeared again, in a hurry and panting. A second later, she was calm.

"All clear." She told them. "Just tunnels, nothing down there I can see. Er, give me five minutes, I want to take another look round."

"Stupidly dangerous." The Doctor called.

"Yep, I like it too." She called back.

She turned and looked at Amy.

"Look after him, Amy." She said.

Amy smiled softly and winked as River went back down.

"Rory, would you mind going with her?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, a bit." He replied.

"Then I'll appreciate it all the more." Lily said. "Come on, I need a reason to go save her ass when she gets herself in trouble, and you're it."

Rory sighed and Lily kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Rory." She said brightly.

"Hang on, River." He called unenthusiastically as he headed towards the manhole. "I'm coming too."

He climbed down to see River leaning over, breathing heavily.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Ah yes, yes." River replied. "I just felt a bit sick. It's the prison food probably."

She took a few deep breaths and stood back up.

"This way, what do you think?" she asked.

Rory followed her nervously and one of the aliens slowly passed them.

"I keep think I hear things." Rory muttered.

"Interesting!" River exclaimed. "These tunnels are old. Really old. How can they be really old and nobody notice them?"

They both stopped as the light from the flashlight bounced off a door.

"It's a maintenance hatch." Rory said.

River tried to open it, but it stayed shut.

"It's locked." She said, kneeling. "Why do people always lock things?"

"What's through there?" Rory asked her.

"No idea." She replied.

"Something bad?" he asked.

"Almost definitely." She answered.

"You're going to open it, aren't you?" Rory sighed.

"It's locked." River said. "How's a girl supposed to resist?"

"Is this sensible?" Rory asked.

"God, I hope not." River replied.

She started to work on the lock.

"You and Lily and the Doctor…" He muttered. "I can kind of picture it."

"Keep a look out." River told him.

"What did you mean?" Rory asked. "What you said to Amy. There's a worse day coming for you."

"When I first met the Doctor and the Phoenix, a long, long time ago…" River said, still working the lock, "they knew all about me. Think about that. Impressionable young girl, and suddenly this man just drops out of the sky, he's clever and mad and wonderful and knows every last thing about her. Imagine what that does to a girl."

"I don't really have to." Rory replied softly.

"Trouble is, it's all back to front." River continued. "My past is their future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet, I know them more, they know me less. I live for the days when I see him. But I know that every time I do, he'll be one step further away. They both will. And the day's coming when I'll look into their eyes…into that man's eyes…my Doctor…and they won't have the faintest idea who I am." The lock whirred. "And I think it's going to kill me."

River stood and opened the door. Inside the room was a large, cavernous control room.

"What is this place?" Rory asked.

As River stepped closer to the center, there was a loud sound.

"That's an alarm." She said. "Check if anything's coming."

Rory nodded and looked outside the room. In the tunnel, the alien creatures were walking towards them menacingly. He quickly pulled his head back into to warn River.

"There's nothing out there." He called.

River scanned one of the control panels.

"These tunnels, they're not just here, they're everywhere." She said. "They're running under the surface of the entire planet! They've been here for centuries!"

There was a crackle of energy from the tunnel and Rory slowly turned into a bright flash.

"Rory!" River yelled.

* * *

><p>Canton and Amy were kneeling down to examine some of the equipment.<p>

"So, you were kicked out of the FBI because you had attitude problems." She said.

"No." Canton replied. "I just wanted to get married."

"Is that a crime?" Amy asked.

"Yes." He replied simply.

He pointed at the Doctor and Lily.

"Doctor who, exactly?" he asked. "Who are they?"

Amy glanced over and saw the Doctor stick his head in a crate and Lily promptly push him all the way in.

"That's classified." Amy replied, smiling as the Doctor pulled himself out of the crate.

Lily just smirked at him and leaned down to kiss him gently.

"Classified by who?" Canton asked.

"God knows." Amy replied.

"But you work for them." He pointed out.

"Their my friends." She told him. "If 'friends' is the right word. I haven't seen them in a while." She paused for a moment. "I had something I wanted to tell him, but stuff always gets in the way."

"Stuff does that." Canton agreed.

"Help me!"

All four of them became instantly alert when they heard the little girl's voice. Canton moved passed Amy, pulling out his gun.

"Help!" the girl cried. "Help me!"

"It's her!" Canton exclaimed.

He ran off and Amy followed before doubling over in pain.

"Amy?" Lily cried, both her and the Doctor running to her side.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked, worried.

"I need to tell you something!" she told them.

"Doctor!" Canton yelled.

"It's important." Amy stressed. "It's really, really important."

"Phoenix!" Canton yelled again. "Quickly!"

_Go._ The Doctor told him mate.

Lily nodded and took off after Canton, while the Doctor helped Amy to stand up.

"Please, I need to tell you." Amy said.

"What, now?" he demanded.

"_THETA!"_

The Doctor heard his mates cry both aloud and in his mind. He quickly pulled Amy to another section of the warehouse, where they found both Canton and Lily unconscious on the ground. They ran to him.

"Lily?" The Doctor cried, kneeling next to her as Amy kneeled next to Canton. "Lily, can you hear me? Are you okay? Alyssy, answer me, damn it!"

He gently cupped the Time Lady's cheek.

"Are they alright?" Amy asked, worried.

"Just unconscious." The Doctor replied, sighing. "Got a proper whack though. I would not want to be the thing that did this when she wakes up."

He leaned over and kissed Lily's forehead before rocking back on his heels and leaning over to check Canton.

"Doctor, I need to tell you something." Amy said. "I have to tell you it now!"

"Not a great moment, Amy." He replied.

"No, it's important!" she insisted. "It has to be now!"

"Help!" they heard the girl cry. "Help me! Help me!"

"Doctor…" Amy said. "I'm pregnant."

They heard a thudding sound and the Doctor stood.

Coming towards them was the astronaut.

"That's it." Amy whispered. "The astronaut!"

The astronaut raised its hand and Amy turned back to grab Canton's gun. With her back towards it, Amy didn't see the astronaut raise its visor to reveal the girl.

"Help me!" she cried again.

"Get down!" Amy yelled, standing up and raising the gun.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded.

"Saving your life!" she replied.

"No!" the Doctor yelled.

Amy fired without realizing who she was firing at.

Then there was a scream.

And then silence.

A/N:…..

What did you guys think? Let me know. Review!

Peace out.

Abbey


	12. Day of the Moon: Control

Disclaimer: If I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it. Did I ask you if I owned Doctor Who? No? Then shut up.

Ch. 12:

_3 months later…July, 1969_

Amy was running through the desert, two cars chasing her. She had a pen on a lanyard around her neck.

"Suspect directly ahead." An agent said.

"Coming to you now, over." Canton replied.

Amy stopped at the edge of a small ledge, the two cars converging behind her. A group of agents stepped out, Canton at the head.

"Canton." Amy said.

"Miss Pond." He replied.

"Is that a body bag?" she asked.

"Yes, it is." He answered.

"It's empty." Amy pointed out.

"How about that." Canton replied.

"Do you even know why you're doing this, eh?" Amy asked him. "Can you even remember? The warehouse?"

* * *

><p><em>Amy helped Canton up while she stared at the girl in the space suit.<em>

"_Amy!" the Doctor called. "Amy!"_

_Rory and River climbed up out of the tunnels and saw the Doctor carrying an unconscious Lily in his arms._

"_What happened?" River demanded._

"_No time." The Doctor replied. "Get in the TARDIS."_

_He handed Lily over to them and they carried her inside._

"_What the hell's going on?" Canton demanded._

"_Look behind you." The Doctor told him._

"_There's nothing behind me!" he insisted._

"_Look!" the Doctor ordered. "Canton, look!"_

_The man turned and saw one of the aliens walking towards him._

* * *

><p>Canton fired and Amy fell to the ground, her arms covered in tally marks.<p>

* * *

><p>Inside a large hanger, with armed guards stationed around an open area in the middle. Canton approached it, past signs that read <em>Do Not Approach The Prisoner<em>.

The prisoner was the Doctor, wrapped in a straightjacket and chained to a chair. His hear was long and he had a full beard. Around him was a yellow circle painted on the floor.

"All visitors to remain behind the yellow line." A voice announced. "All visitors remain behind the yellow line."

"We found Amy Pond." Canton told him. "She had strange markings on her arm." He held up a picture. "Do you know what they are?"

He threw the folder closer so the Doctor could see it.

"Why don't you ask her?" he asked the agent.

Canton didn't answer and realization flashed across the Doctor's face.

* * *

><p>River was in an unfinished building, nervously making her way through, covered in tally marks. She heard a pipe fall and turned to find the aliens behind her.<p>

"I see you!" she told them, taking out a pen and marking her arm. "I see you!"

She was interrupted by Canton and his agents arriving.

"Doctor Song." He called.

River turned to look at him.

"Doctor Song?" he called again.

River looked back and the aliens were gone, so she ran.

"Go, go, go!" Canton ordered.

River stopped when she reached the open wall of the building.

"Don't move!" Canton told her. "It's over!"

"They're here, Canton." River said. "They're everywhere."

"I know." He replied. "America's being invaded."

"You were invaded a long time ago." River told him. "America is occupied. The Phoenix would be heartbroken."

"Well, where she is, she'll never have to worry about heartbreak again." Canton replied. "You're coming with us, Dr. Song. There's no way out, this time."

"There's always a way out." She replied.

With her arms outstretched and a smile on her face, River fell backwards out of the building.

* * *

><p>Two scientists were building a wall of black stone around the Doctor while he watched with some interest.<p>

"We found Dr. Song." Canton told him.

"These bricks, what are they made of?" the Doctor asked. "Where is she?"

"She ran." Canton replied. "Off the 50th floor. At least the Phoenix has some company now."

"I'd say zero balanced dwarf star alloy." The Doctor said, hesitating just a second at the mention of the Phoenix. "The densest material in the universe. Nothing gets through that. You're building me the perfect prison."

He faced Canton.

"And it still won't be enough." He told the agent.

* * *

><p>Rory burst out of the door onto the Glen Canyon Dam. He looked around and saw that the road across the dam was blocked on both sides by agents. His face, arms, and neck were covered with tally marks. He looked over the side before putting up his hands and turning to face Canton.<p>

"What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for you to run." Canton told him as Rory lowered his arms. "It'll look better if I shot you while you were running. Then again, looks aren't everything."

Canton raised his gun and Rory shut his eyes. There was a gunshot and Rory fell to the ground.

* * *

><p>Canton walked into the hanger, two soldiers dragging body bags. The Doctor's cell was complete and the soldiers dragged the bags inside.<p>

"Is there a reason you're doing this?" he asked the agent.

"I want you to know where you stand." Canton replied.

"In a cell." The Doctor said.

"in the perfect cell." Canton said as the soldiers left. "Nothing can penetrate these walls. Not a sound, not a radio wave."

He inserted his fingers into holes in the wall and the door slid shut.

"Not the tiniest particle of anything." He continued. "In here, you are literally cut off from the rest of the universe. So I guess they can't hear us, right?"

"Good work, Canton." The Doctor said. "Door sealed?"

"You bet." The agent replied.

The Doctor stood up, shaking off the chains and removing the straightjacket, as the body bags sat up. The Doctor unzipped one to reveal Rory.

"You okay?" he asked the young man.

"Finally." Amy breathed as Canton helped her up.

"These things could really do with air holes." Rory told them.

"Never had a complaint before." Canton shot back.

The Doctor stretched his arms as Amy climbed out of her bag.

"Isn't it going to look odd that you're staying in here with us?" she asked.

"Odd, but not alarming." Canton replied. "They know there's no way out of this place."

"Exactly." The Doctor said. "Whatever they might think we're doing in here, they know we're not going anywhere."

He snapped his braces and leaned to the side…promptly falling to the ground. He sighed and snapped his fingers. A second later, Lily's head appeared in mid air.

"What are you doing on the ground, love?" she asked, looking down at the Doctor.

"Why did you move the TARDIS?" he demanded, sitting up.

"I got bored." She replied, stepping out. "Also, I was out of cookies."

She smiled and held out a hand to her mate.

"Shall we?" she asked.

He shook his head, but took her hand, letting her pull him up. She pulled him into the TARDIS, and Rory and Amy followed them.

"What about Dr. Song?" Canton asked, following them in. "She dove off a rooftop!"

"She does that kinda bullshi-" Lily started as she moved to the console.

"Lily!" The Doctor interrupted.

She just stuck her tongue out at him as he shut the TARDIS doors and ran up to the console.

"Amy, Rory, open all the doors to the swimming pool." He ordered and they both moved off.

* * *

><p>River turned as she fell so that she was now in a dive and shot through the open TARDIS doors, which was now parked on the side of the building, and water splashed up.<p>

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked around the console as he talked.<p>

"So we know they're everywhere." He said. "Not just a landing party, and occupying force. And they've been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, 'cause no one can remember them."

River arrived, drying her hair, and Lily sat up quickly from where she had been slouching in the jump seat.

"Theta!" She growled. "She-my-why-I can't!"

"Lily, I'm going to need more words than that." He told her.

_SHE'S WEARING MY PANTS! _ Lily screeched in his head, seeming to have lost the ability to speak.

"Lily-girl, I think we have bigger issues at the moment." He sighed.

_We have a whole, freaking, giant closet she could choose from! _She told him, still unable to form words through her anger. _And to get those she had to go to our closet! Theta, I don't want her in our bedroom!_

"I imagine the Phoenix is having a conniption over my wardrobe choice?" River said, smirking.

Lily's eyes turned gold and she raised her hand.

"Lily!" The Doctor shouted, getting between the two women.

Everyone held their breath as the two Time Lords stared each other down. Finally, the gold receded from Lily's eyes and she lowered her hand, shaking.

"I need…" she whispered before running out of the room.

The Doctor sagged and watched his mate run away.

"What the hell just happened?" Canton demanded.

Nobody answered. Finally the Doctor followed Lily out of the room, leaving a confused group of humans and River, who actually looked contrite, behind.

* * *

><p>The Doctor found Lily in their bathroom, sitting between the bathtub and the toilet, with her knees pulled up to her chest.<p>

"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling in front of her.

"You were right." She whispered. "I need to stop using my powers. I almost…oh god."

"Lily…" he sighed.

"It would've been so easy, Theta." She told him, horror in her voice. "To just reach out my hand and snuff out her life. Like blowing out a candle. Like crushing that Dalek into a tiny ball. Barely even a thought. Every second I feel it. All this power at my finger tips. I can feel it rushing through my veins. Taking over."

"It's okay." He said, reaching out to her.

She violently pulled back from him.

"No it's not!" she told him desperately. "Can't you see? It's in me and it's taking over! Time Lords weren't meant to have this power for a reason. You said it yourself. We'd become vengeful gods. I can feel it, Theta. Every day it creeps up on me. I try to hide it. Bury it so deep that no one will see it, but I feel it. Calling out for the blood of anything that might threaten you. Threaten Rory and Amy. Slaughter them all. Keep you safe."

The Doctor looked at his mate in shock.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered. "Why did you hide it from me?"

Lily laughed at him.

"Are you joking?" she asked. "I've been trying to hide it from myself! Why would I let you see it?"

"Because I'm your mate!" he told her angrily.

She shrank away from him and he took a deep breath.

"Help me, Theta." She whispered. "Don't let it take me."

The Doctor reached forward and pulled her to him as she started to shake.

"I won't let anything hurt you." He told her. "We'll get through this, but right now we have work to do. Are you gonna be able to do this?"

Lily took a deep breath and slowly nodded her head.

"Don't let me hurt anyone." She whispered.

"I won't." he assured her.

* * *

><p>The Doctor and Lily walked into the control room and found the others waiting for them in silence. The Doctor went to the console while Lily nodded to River and they both went below the console.<p>

"River, I'm – " she started.

"It's alright, Phoenix." River interrupted.

"No, it's not." Lily told her. "I…I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything, Phoenix." River told her. "Believe me."

"You told the Doctor to come back for me." Lily said.

"Nothing I've ever told him has changed the Doctor's mind." River replied. "If he came back, it's because he wanted to."

"All the same." Lily sighed. "…Thank you."

"You're welcome." River said. "Now shall we go help your mate before he comes up with another clever plan to end the universe?"

Lily nodded and led her back upstairs.

"Everything okay?" Rory asked.

"Everything's fine, Rory." River told him.

"Good." The Doctor said. "Then let's get a move on. We have an alien invasion to deal with."

"So what are they up to?" Canton asked.

"No idea." The Doctor replied as Lily moved to his side and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "But the good news is…we've got a secret weapon."

He kissed Lily's temple before running to the door. He stepped out and the others followed them. In the distance was an Apollo rocket.

"Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" River asked.

"No, no, it's not Apollo 11, that would be silly." The Doctor replied.

"Of course." Lily said with a hint of her usual spark.

"It's Neil Armstrong's foot." The Doctor finished.

A/N: What do you guys think? This whole season is going to be about consequences for me, so we're starting to see the beginning. Please Review!


	13. Day of the Moon: Countdown

Disclaimer: Close your eyes and think of England. It makes the fact that I stole the Doctor easier to swallow.

Ch. 13:

A black sedan pulled up in front of Greystark Hall Orphanage as the rain poured down.

"In just a few days mankind will set foot on the moon for the first day." The radio said. "Today the President reaffirmed America's commitment…"

Canton turned off the radio and looked at Amy in the passenger seat. She was dressed as an agent in a black suit.

"Ready." He told her. "Check?"

Amy looked at the palm of her left hand.

"Clear." She said.

"Clear." Canton repeated, looking at his palm.

As Amy got out of the car, Canton rubbed his left palm with his right index finger.

* * *

><p>The Doctor quickly injected something into Canton's hand as they all stood all around the console room of the TARDIS.<p>

"Ow!" he complained.

"So, three months, what have we found out?" The Doctor asked, moving to stand next to Lily, where she was sitting in the jump seat, quieter than he had seen her in a long time.

"Well, they are everywhere." Rory replied. "Every state in America. Ow!"

He glared at the Doctor, rubbing his hand where he had just been injected.

"Not just America, the entire world." Lily said softly.

"There's a greater concentration here though." River said.

"Ow!" Amy exclaimed as the Doctor injected her.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"All better." She replied.

"Better?" The Doctor asked.

"Turns out I was wrong." she told him. "I'm not pregnant."

"What's up?" Rory asked, joining them.

"Nothing." Amy replied quickly. "Really, nothing, seriously."

_She thought she was pregnant? _Lily asked as the Doctor moved back to her.

He nodded.

_And then she shot a little girl?_ Lily asked, looking up at him in surprised. _That's a hell of a reaction._

_She didn't mean to._ He said.

_But it doesn't make sense._ Lily insisted. _Why did she shoot?_

_I don't know. _The Doctor said. _Something's got them all spooked._

_And just think, they don't even know they've got a time bomb in their midst._ She told him dryly.

_Don't even joke about that._ He shot back.

_Theta, if I don't joke about it, I'm going to go nuts. _She told seriously.

_I don't care._ He told her stubbornly. _Don't joke about it. We're going to fix it._

_What if we can't? _ She asked softly.

The Doctor just ignored her, going back to the conversation that was happening outside of their heads.

"So you've seen them, but you don't remember them." Canton said.

"You've seen them too." River said. "That night at the warehouse, remember? While you were pretending to hunts us down we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."

"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away." Rory said. "The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything."

"Sometimes you feel a bit sick through, but not always." Amy added.

"So that's why you marked your skin?" Canton asked.

"Only way we'd know if we'd had an encounter." Amy replied.

"How long have they been here?" he demanded.

"That's what we've spent three months trying to find out." She told him.

"Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover." Rory added.

"But how long do you think?" Canton pressed.

"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, of creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall." The Doctor said.

"In conclusion, a really freaking long time." Lily said.

The Doctor pushed her shoulder, but was smiling.

"They've been running your lives for a very long time now." He continued. "So keep this straight in your head: we are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today the battle begins."

"How?" Canton asked.

"Like this." The Doctor replied, reaching back and injecting River.

"Ow!" she exclaimed.

"Ha-ha!" The Doctor said proudly. "Nano-recorder. Fuses with the cartilage in your hand."

He injected himself.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Wuss." Lily said, taking it from him.

She injected herself and immediately bit her lip.

"Excuse me." She said quickly.

She quickly walked out of the room.

"Sonofabitch!" they all heard from the hallway.

The Doctor and Amy laughed as Rory and River smiled. Lily walked back to see them all waiting for her.

"What?" she demanded, sitting down. "Carry on."

"Anyway." The Doctor said, smiling at his mate, who just shook her head. "It tunes itself directly to the speech centers in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection. So the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it." He pressed his palm and it began to glow red. "And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."

He pressed his palm again.

"And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing." The recorder played back.

"Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened." The Doctor continued. "The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand. If you've had an encounter that's the first you'll know about it."

"Why didn't you tell me this before we started?" Canton asked.

"We did." Lily told him. "But even information about these creatures erases itself over time."

She got up and pressed a few buttons on the console.

"We couldn't refresh it, cause neither the Doctor nor I could talk to you." She told him.

Canton glanced over his shoulder and then straightened the Doctor's tie as the others watched him.

"What?" he demanded. "What are you staring at?"

"Look at your hand." River said.

Canton looked at his palm, which was flashing red.

"Why's it doing that?" he asked.

"What does it mean if the light's flashings?" The Doctor asked. "What did I just tell you?"

"I haven't…" he murmured.

"Play it." Lily told him.

Canton pressed his palm.

"My God, how did it get here?" the recording played.

"Keep eye contact with the creature and when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie." The Doctor's voice ordered.

Canton slowly turned around.

"What?" the recording continued. "What are you staring at?"

"Look at your hand." River's voice said.

Standing in the TARDIS was one of the aliens.

"It's a hologram." The Doctor told him. "Extrapolated from a photo on Amy's phone. Take a good long look."

The hologram dissipated.

"You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting." The Doctor said. "Describe it to me."

He snapped his fingers.

"I can't." Canton replied.

"No." The Doctor agreed. "Neither can I. You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."

"So they could do that to people." Amy said. "You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it."

"Like post hypnotic suggestion." Rory agreed.

"Ruling the world with post hypnotic suggestion." Amy murmured.

"Now then, a little girl in a space suit." The Doctor said. "They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?"

"Could be anywhere." Canton said.

"Except, they're going to stay near the warehouse, aren't they?" Lily said, moving to the scanner. "Why bother doing anything else? And they'd need to take her from someplace where it wouldn't attract attention."

"But you'll have to find her." The Doctor said. "Lily and I are off to NASA."

He reached over his mate and zoomed into the possible locations in Florida she had identified.

"Find her?" Canton asked. "Where do we look?"

"Children's homes." Lily replied.

* * *

><p>There was a knock and a man opened the door to find Canton and Amy on the doorstep.<p>

"Hello." He said.

"FBI." Canton told him, holding up his ID. "You must be Dr. Renfrew. Can we come in?"

"The children are asleep." Renfrew replied.

"We'll be very quiet." Amy assured him.

"Is there a problem?" the man asked.

"It's about a missing child." Canton answered.

"What are you…?" Renfrew asked, confused. "Yes, yes, come in, please."

Amy pushed the door open and she and Canton followed Renfrew inside. Amy could tell that the building was once beautiful, but now it was falling apart and the walls were covered in graffiti, telling them to "GET OUT" and "LEAVE NOW".

"This way." Renfrew said, leading them upstairs. "Please excuse the writing. It keeps happening. I try to clean it up."

"It's the kids, yeah?" Amy asked. "They do that?"

"Yes." Renfrew replied distractedly. "The children. It must be, yes."

He reached out to wipe the wall and they saw "GET OUT" written on his wrist.

"Anyway, my office is this way." Renfrew said, leading them down the hall.

"We nearly didn't come to this place." Canton told him. "I understood Graystark Hall was closed in '67."

"That's the plan, yes." Renfrew said.

"The plan?" Amy repeated.

"Not long now." Renfrew continued.

"It's 1969." Canton told him.

"No, no." Renfrew disagreed. "We close in '67. That's the plan, yes."

"You misunderstood me, sir." Canton said. "It's 1969 now."

"Why are you saying that?" Renfrew asked, genuinely confused. "Of course it isn't."

"July." Canton told him.

Something seemed to break through to Renfrew, but then it was gone.

"My office is this way, this way." He told them, veering off into a smaller stairway.

"I'll check upstairs." Amy said.

"Be careful." Canton told her.

He followed Renfrew and Amy continued on. Finally she reached a hall of doors and opened the first one to find a decrepit dorm room. There were bed frames on either side and the walls bore the message "LEAVE ME ALONE".

* * *

><p>The Doctor was working on a mass of wires, when his phone rang. He reached up and tapped his earpiece.<p>

"Amy?" he answered.

"I think we've found the place she was taken from." She told him.

"How do you know?" the Doctor asked.

"'Cause those things have been here." Amy replied. "But this whole place is deserted. There's just one guy here and I think he's lost it."

"Repeated memory wipes fry your head eventually." Lily said, poking her head in as she handed the Doctor a tool. "Keep looking, but don't stay too long."

"Where are you two?" Amy asked.

"Gotta go!" the Doctor said. "Got company!"

The Doctor ended the call and sat up as Lily rocked back on her heels. He glared at her and she shrugged. In front of them, the door was open and a group of men were looking in on them.

"Don't worry." The Doctor told them. "I put everything back the way I found it."

Lily coughed and handed him a piece.

"Except this." He said. "There's always a bit left over, isn't there?"

Lily hid her face in her hand.

"You broke Apollo 11, didn't you?" she muttered.

* * *

><p>Amy put her phone away and continued to walk towards the window. The door slammed shut behind her and she whirled around, but there was nothing there. She ran for the door and as she tried the knob, she noticed markings on her hand. She turned it over and saw the red light flashing.<p>

"I can see them, but I think they're asleep." The recording played. "Get out! Just get out!"

Amy tried the door again before trying the window. She saw more marks on her hands, and in her reflection, she saw markings all over face. She turned slowly and looked up. Above here was a mass of the creatures, hanging upside-down from the ceiling like bats. She walked towards the door, not taking her eyes off them, and tripped over a bucket. One of the creatures hissed at the noise and Amy moved to leave herself another message, but was distracted by the door opening.

She looked away and her face went blank as the creatures slipped from her mind. She shook her head slightly and left the room, not seeing the creature watching her from the center of the room.

* * *

><p>The Doctor and Lily sat in the middle of a lecture room with their hands handcuffed. An MP stood behind them as two men interrogated them.<p>

"One more time, sir." The first man said. "How the hell did you two get into the command module?"

"We told you!" the Doctor told him. "We're on a top secret mission for the President."

He bit the chain of the cuffs and Lily kicked him.

"Stop it." She hissed. "It's not good for your teeth."

"Well, maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir, that would be swell." The man scoffed.

"Don't worry." Lily told him. "I sent one."

The man scoffed again just as the double doors behind him opened and Nixon walked into the room. Rory and River followed him in, dressed in the fashion of the time, and the Time Lords spotted the TARDIS behind them.

"Hello, I believe it's Mr. Gardner, is that correct?" Nixon said to the first man. "Head of security?"

"Ah, yes, sir." Gardner said, flustered as he shook the president's hand. "Yes, Mr. President."

"Mr. Grant, is it?" Nixon said, turning to the other man.

"Yes, Mr. President." Grant said, shaking his hand.

"The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today, at Cape Kennedy, and you are the men who guard those dreams." Nixon told them. "On behalf of the American people, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. President." Gardner said.

"I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr. Grant?" Nixon asked.

"Yes, Mr. President." He replied.

"What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?" Nixon asked.

"Just a healthy American, sir." Grant replied.

"A healthy American will do just nicely." Nixon said, giving him a friendly shoulder punch. "Now, fellas, listen. This man and woman here – codenames, The Doctor and The Phoenix – are doing some work for me, personally. Could you cut them a little slack?"

"Er, Mr. President, they did break into Apollo 11." Gardner said.

The Doctor mouthed 'sorry' while Lily pointed at him and mouthed 'his idea'.

"Well, I'm sure they had a very good reason for that." Nixon said slowly. "But I need you to release them now, so they can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?"

"Well…" Grant hesitated.

"So, I am your Commander-in-Chief." Nixon pointed out.

"Then I guess that would be fine, Mr. President." Gardner capitulated.

"Glad to hear it." Nixon said.

The MP unlocked the handcuffs and the Doctor and the Phoenix both stood.

"Thank you!" The Doctor said, shaking Grant's hand as Lily walked past everyone without a word. "Bye-Bye!"

He shook Gardner's hand and followed Lily into the TARDIS.

"Carry on, gentlemen." Nixon said as he and River followed the Time Lords.

Rory, who had been looking at a model of the Lunar Module, jumped as a piece broke off. After a second of trying to reattach it, he gave up and set it on the desk and cleared his throat.

"Rory!" Lily called, making him jump again.

"America salutes you." He said quickly.

He saluted them in the British fashion before joining the others, leaving the two men staring after him.

A/N: Ta-da! I'm back! Ha! Okay, I know it's been forever, but give me a break. We have to admit Moffatt kinda screwed me with this season. But I am back and I will try to keep these coming at a regular pace.

On a separate note, I am going to be changing my penname soon because I am not happy with my current one. It made sense when I first started writing, but now it doesn't really fit. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up. I'm trying to put a chapter on all my current stories first, that way I can warn everyone.

So, you know the drill! Review!

Abbey


	14. Day of the Moon: Lift Off

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, but since when does that matter?

Ch. 14:

As Renfrew sat at his desk, Canton searched the filing cabinets.

"This place, it's been closed for years." He said. "What have you been doing?"

"Oh, the child, she must be cared for." Renfrew said distractedly. "It's important. That's what they said."

"That's what who said?" Canton asked.

* * *

><p>Amy searched the rest of the upstairs, the only light coming from her flashlight. She heard a noise and turned to see a woman with an eye patch peering through an opening in the door.<p>

"Hello." Amy called. "Who are you?"

"No, I think she's just dreaming." The woman said to someone else.

The window slid shut and after a moment, Amy went to the door and opened it to find a small nursery.

"Hello?" she called. "I saw you, looking through the hatch…"

She looked back at the door, but there was no hatch. She ran her hand over the door and checked the back of it. Finding nothing, she walked back inside, looking at the stuffed animals on the bed and a mobile hanging from the light. On the bureau were a whole bunch of photos of the girl at various ages. One at the very back caught Amy's eye and she picked it up.

It was of her. With a baby.

"How?" she whispered. "How can that be me?"

She put the picture down and turned as the astronaut entered the room.

"Who are you?" Amy demanded. "I don't understand, so just tell me who you are!"

The astronaut lifted the visor and it was still the little girl. The inner visor was cracked from the bullet from the shot Amy fired at the warehouse.

"I'm sorry." She told her. "I didn't mean to shoot you. I'm glad I missed. But you killed the Doctor. You're going to kill him. But who are you? Just please tell me, because I don't understand!"

"Please help me." The girl begged. "Help me, please."

Two of the creatures entered the room and Amy screamed as the door slammed shut.

* * *

><p>There was a thumping and Renfrew went to the door. He opened it a crack and spoke to the person outside.<p>

"It's just some questions." He said. "Yes, I see."

He closed the door and sat back down.

"Who was that?" Canton asked. "Doctor Renfrew? Who was that?"

"Who was who?" Renfrew asked.

Canton walked towards the door, but stopped when it opened and a creature entered.

"What are you?" Canton asked. "You can tell me."

He activated the recorder on his hand.

"Cause I won't remember." He continued. "You invaded us. You're everyewhere."

"Help me!" Canton heard Amy yell from the distance. "Canton, please will you help me?!"

"Are you armed?" Canton asked the creature.

"The world is ours." The creature told him. "We have ruled it since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons."

"Yeah?" Canton asked.

He drew his revolver and shot the creature three times.

"Welcome to America." He said before taking off down the hall. "Amy!"

* * *

><p>Nixon sat at his desk as the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS.<p>

"You have to tape everything that happens in this office, every word, or we won't know if you're under the influence." He told the President.

"Doctor, you have to give me more than this." Nixon told him. "What were you and the Phoenix doing to Apollo 11?"

"A thing." The Doctor replied. "A clever thing. No more questions. You have to trust me and nobody else."

"Theta!" Lily called, leaning out the door. "It's Canton! He needs us. Get your ass in here!"

The Doctor ran inside and the TARDIS dematerialized.

* * *

><p>Canton ran to the door where he heard Amy yelling.<p>

"Help me!" she was calling. "Please, I can't, I can't see! Somebody help me!"

Canton tried to break down the door, but it stayed in place.

"Amy!" he yelled, pounding on the door. "Amy, can you hear me? Amy, I'm going to try to blow the lock. I need you to stand back."

Just as Canton raised his gun, The Doctor, Lily, Rory, and River ran up to him.

"Okay, gun down, I've got it!" the Doctor said, moving to the door and pulling out his screwdriver. "Amy, we're here. Are you okay?"

"I can't see!" she called back.

The Doctor opened the door and they all went in. Out of sight, down the hall, the girl stood with her back pressed against the wall.

Inside the room, Amy wasn't there, and on the floor was the spacesuit.

"Where is she, Doctor?" Rory demanded.

The Doctor scaned the suit with the screwdriver while. Lily glanced at Rory and bit her lip.

_Theta…_

He looked up at his mate and met her eyes.

_Do it. _He told her._ I'll keep watch. Keep you on task._

She nodded and knelt down, laying a hand against the floor, and her eyes started to swirl gold. The Doctor felt her power sweep through her, felt the temptation she had finally told him about, that she had been hiding from him. He could tell she was only using a small fraction of her power, and still the pull to use it to smite all their enemies, to track those who had taken Amy and tear them limb from limb was tremendous.

_Focus._ He told her.

She nodded and closed her eyes, seeking Amy through her connection to the TARDIS.

River lifted the visor to the suit and the Doctor refocused on their task.

"It's empty." She said.

"It's dark, it's so dark." They heard Amy say. "I don't know where I am. Please, can anybody hear me?"

The Doctor looked down and found the nanorecorder blinking on the floor. Rory bent and picked it up.

"They took this out of her?" Rory asked. "How did they do that, Doctor?"

Amy sobs came over the recorder.

"Why can I still hear her?" he demanded.

"Is it a recording?" River asked.

"No." Lily said standing up.

The Doctor watched her eyes as she fought her power back down. When all the gold was pretty much gone, he sighed softly.

"The recorder defaults to live when it's suddenly removed from the body." Lily continued. "This is current. Wherever she is right now, this is what she's saying. And wherever that is, I can't track her. She's being cut off from the TARDIS."

"Amy, can you hear me?" Rory said into the recorder. "We're coming for you. Wherever you are, we're coming, I swear."

"She can't hear you." The Doctor said. "I'm so sorry. It's one way."

"She can always hear me, Doctor." Rory said. "Always, wherever she is. She always knows that I am coming for her, do you understand me? Always."

"Doctor, are you out there?" Amy called. "Can you hear me? Doctor? Oh, God. Please, please, Doctor, just get me out of this."

"He's coming." Rory told her uselessly. "I'll bring him, I swear."

Lily came over and took his hand, holding it tightly. A second later, Renfrew wandered in.

"Hello, is someone in there?" he asked. "Who? I think someone has been shot. I think we should help. We…I can't…I can't remember."

* * *

><p>Renfrew led them back to his office where the creature was lying on the floor. It backed away from the Doctor and Lily as they kneeled in front of him and the Doctor reached out.<p>

"Okay." He said, backing off. "Who and what are you?"

"Silence, Doctor." The creature replied, holding his wound. "We are the Silence."

"Theta." Lily said.

In their minds they remembered all the times they had been told of the silence, not comprehending just what that meant.

"And silence will fall." The creature continued.

* * *

><p>Inside Area 51, the doors to the Doctor's cell opened and the soldiers aimed their guns as Canton strolled out.<p>

"Hello again." He said.

"Sir, you've been in there for days." One of the soldiers said. "What the hell have you been doing?"

"Doesn't matter." Canton replied. "I need Dr. Shepherd here, right now."

"Sir, I need to talk to Colonel Jefferson right now!" the soldier shot back.

"No, you really don't." Canton said.

He smirked as President Nixon walked out of the cell and all of the soldiers quickly holstered their weapons and saluted.

"Hi, fellas." He said. "I'm President Nixon. I want to tell you, on behalf of the American people, how much we appreciate all of your hard work."

* * *

><p>In the warehouse, The Doctor and River examined the spacesuit, while Rory paced and Lily sat on a crate, spinning the TARDIS blue envelope in her hands. In the background, they listened to the newscast for the moon landing.<p>

"_The target for the Apollo 11 astronauts, the moon, at lift off, will be at a distance of 218,095 miles away. We're just past the two minute mark on the countdown. T minus one minute 54 seconds and counting…"_

"It's an exo-skeleton." River said, scanning the suit. "Basically, life support. There's about 20 different kinds of alien tech in here."

"Who was she?" the Doctor asked. "Why put her in here?"

"Put this on, you don't even need to eat." River said. "The suit processes sunlight directly. It's got built in weaponry and a communications system that can hack into anything."

"Including the telephone network?" the Doctor suggested.

"Easily." River replied.

"Why phone the president?" Lily called.

"It defaults to the highest authority it can find." River replied. "The little girl gets frightened, the most powerful man on Earth gets a phone call."

"Night terrors and a direct hotline to the White House." Lily murmured. "That's the way I'd set it up for my daughter."

"You'd want to protect your daughter from everything, give her the access to the best help possible." River said, looking up at her turning the envelope over in her hands. "You won't learn anything from that envelope, you know."

The Doctor reached over and took it from Lily.

"Purchased on Earth, perfectly ordinary stationery, TARDIS blue." He said. "Summoned by a stranger who won't even show his face. That's a first for us. How about you?"

"Our lives are back to front." River told them. "Your future's my past, your firsts are my lasts."

"Not really what we asked." Lily said.

"As something else then." River replied with a shrug as she went back to the suit.

"What are the Silence doing?" The Doctor asked.

"Raising a child?" Lily suggested.

"Keeping her safe." River answered. "Even giving her independence."

The Doctor looked at Rory, who was totally focused on the recorder.

"The only way to save Amy is to work out what the Silence are doing." He told him.

"I know." Rory said.

"Every single thing we learn about them brings us a step closer." The Doctor continued.

"Yeah, Doctor, I get it." Rory told him. "I know."

_Leave him alone._ Lily told her mate.

The Doctor ignored her, but moved back to River.

"Of course, it's possible she's not just any little girl." He said.

"Well, I'd say she's human, going by the life support software." River said.

"But?" Lily asked, getting up to join them.

"She climbed out of this suit." River told them. "Like she forced her way out. She must be incredibly strong."

"Incredibly strong and running away." The Doctor said, looking at the broken straps. "I like her."

"You would." Lily said, smirking.

"We should try to find her." River said.

"Yes, I know, but how?" the Doctor asked. "Anyway, I have the strangest feeling she's going to find us."

"_This is Houston, do you read? Over."_

"Why does it look like a NASA space suit?" Rory asked.

"Because that's what the Silence do." Lily said, as the Doctor walked over to the TV. "I mean, think about it for a minute. They're an occupying force. They don't need to make anything because you guys will do it all for them."

"So they're parasites then?" River asked.

"Exactly." Lily said.

"Super parasites." The Doctor said. "Standing in the shadows of human history since the very beginning. We know they can influence human behavior any way they want. If they've been doing that on a global scale for thousands of years…"

"Then what?" Rory asked.

"They why did the human race suddenly decide to go to the moon?" Lily asked.

"_Ten…nine…ignition sequence start…six…five…four…_"

"Because the Silence needed a space suit." The Doctor answered.

"…_one…zero…all engines on. Lift off. We have a lift off 32 minutes after the hour, lift off on Apollo 11._"

* * *

><p>Dr. Shepherd examined the Silence as Canton looked on inside the cell.<p>

"My God!" he exclaimed. "What is it?"

"It's just an alien, Dr. Shepherd." Canton told him.

"Someone's already been treating it." Shepherd said.

"Yeah." Canton sighed. "You've been treating it."

"Does Colonel Jefferson know this thing is here?" Shepherd asked.

"No." Canton replied.

"Then I'm going to tell him right now!" Shepherd declared, getting up and turning away from the Silence.

"Again?" Canton asked.

"Sorry, what?" Shepherd asked.

"Exactly." Canton sighed.

"Sergeant, why was I called in here for no reason?" Shepherd called, walking out of the cell.

"You tend to my wounds." The Silence said. "You are foolish."

"Why?" Canton asked, recording the Silence with Amy's phone. "What would you do in my place?"

"We have ruled your lives since your lives began." The Silence said. "You should kill us all on sight, but you will never remember we were even here. Your will is ours."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but thanks, it's exactly what I needed to hear." Canton said. "This is a video phone, whatever a video phone is."

Canton ended the recording and sent the file to Lily's phone.

* * *

><p>"We've got mail." Lily called, pulling out her phone. "It's from Canton. That boy is a quick study."<p>

She tossed her phone to the Doctor, who quickly opened the file.

"_You should kill us all on sight._"

Lily glanced over to Rory, who stood off to the side, listening to Amy's sobs over the nanorecorder, while River scanned the suit, when the glove twitched.

"This suit, it seems to be repairing itself." She said. "How is it doing that?"

Rory sat down on the floor, his back against a crate. Lily looked at him sadly and the Doctor squeezed her arm.

"Doctor, a unit like this, would it ever be able to move without an occupant?" River asked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, the little girl said the space man was coming to eat her." River said. "Maybe that's exactly what happened."

Amy began to speak again and Rory lifted his head. Lily glanced at the Doctor and he shrugged.

"_I love you."_ Amy said. "_I know you think it's him. I know you think it ought to be him. But it's not, it's you. And when I see you again, I'm going to tell you properly, just to see your stupid face. My life was so boring before you just dropped out of the sky._"

Rory dropped his head.

_Oh gods._ Lily whispered.

"_So just get your stupid face where I can see it, okay?_" Amy continued. "_Okay?_"

Lily moved over and sat down next to Rory, resting her head on his shoulder and hugging his arm.

"She's okay for now." She told him softly. "You know she is, because you know nothing would stop me if I didn't think she was. They need her as a hostage."

"Can't you save her?" Rory asked.

"We can track that signal." Lily confirmed. "It'd take us right to her."

"Then why haven't you?" he demanded.

"Then what, Rory?" she asked. "We find her, and then what do we do? This isn't just some alien invasion. This would all be so much simpler if it was. This is an occupation. They live here. This is their empire. This is kicking the Romans out of Rome."

"Rome fell." Rory replied.

"I know." Lily said. "I was there."

"So was I." Rory shot back.

Lily was quiet for a moment.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Sure." He replied.

"Do you ever remember it?" she asked. "Those 2,000 years, watching over the Pandorica? Watching over Amy? The Last Centurion?"

"No." Rory replied.

"Are you lying?" Lily asked.

"'Course I'm lying." He said.

"Of course you are." Lily agreed. "It's not really the sort of thing someone forgets, is it?"

"But I don't remember it all the time." He told her. "It's like there's…a door in my head. I can keep it shut."

"_Please come and get me._" Amy begged. "_Come and get me._"

She started to sob again and Rory turned his face into Lily's shoulder and she rested her head on his. She looked up and met the Doctor's eyes, and he just sighed.

A/N: Ha! What about that, suckers?! Two chapters! What do you think about that?!

Review, please!

Abbey


	15. Day of the Moon: Mission Complete

Disclaimer: Oh, Doctor, my Doctor.

Ch. 15:

One of the President's aids switched on the TV and they all watched the Apollo 11 broadcast.

"_Just five days since Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy._"

* * *

><p>Inside a bar, the patrons all gathered around the TV.<p>

"…_this unprecedented journey is reaching its crucial moment. Armstrong and Aldrin are making their descent to the surface of the moon. On the ground, you've got a bunch of guys about to turn blue._"

* * *

><p>Amy woke to bright light in her eyes. She was strapped to a table, tilted so it was upright.<p>

"Where am I?" she demanded. "Where is this?"

One of the Silence turned to face her.

"You are Amelia Pond." It said.

"You're ugly, has anyone mentioned that to you?" Amy shot back.

"We do you honor." The Silence told her. "You will bring the Silence. But your part will soon be over."

"Whatever that means, you've made a big mistake bringing me here, because wait till you see what's coming for you now." Amy told it.

"You have been here many days." The Silence said.

"No." Amy said. "I just got here. You just put me in here."

"Your memory is weak." The Silence said. "You have been here many days."

"No." Amy disagreed. "No, I can't have been."

"You will sleep now." The Silence ordered, leaning over her. "Sleep."

"No!" Amy yelled. "No! Get off me!"

"Sleep." The Silence repeated.

"No!" she shouted. "No!"

They were all distracted by the sound of the TARDIS materializing. The Silence turned to stare at it as The Doctor, Lily, River, and Rory all stepped out. The Doctor was carrying a TV and River had her gun out.

"Oh!" The Doctor exclaimed, looking around. "Interesting. Very Aickman Road. I've seen one of these before."

"Isn't this…?" Lily asked, looking around in interest. "It totally is! But that one was abandoned. I wonder how that happened."

"I think we're about to find out." The Doctor said. "Rory, River, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times." He turned and seem to spot the Silence for the first time. "Oh, hello, sorry! You're in the middle of something. Just had to say though, have you seen what's on the telly?"

"Alright, Amy?" Lily called.

"Oh, just peachy." Amy called back sarcastically.

"Good, then you're all set to watch some TV." Lily told her.

"How 'bout instead, you get me the hell out of here?!" Amy shouted.

"Jeez." Lily said. "Just…calm, alright? We'll have you out soon."

"Just stay where you are." The Doctor said. "Because, look at me, I'm confident. You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident."

"Mostly I just want to smack you when you're confident." Lily said. "No, what you really should be doing is watching River. She's the only one who's apparently allowed to carry a gun, and she's not afraid to use it. It's about the only thing I like about her."

"Thank you, Phoenix." River said. "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it." Lily told her strictly.

"Yes, ma'am." River replied, saluting.

"So, I know you're team players and everything, but she'll definitely kill at least the first three of you."

River moved so she was standing with her back to the Doctor and Lily.

"The first seven, easily." River said.

"Seven, really?" the Doctor asked.

"I bet you she can take out eight." Lily said.

"You're on." The Doctor said. "Winner picks the next date?"

"Deal." Lily said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "River, you totally better win me this one."

"Anything for you, Phoenix." River said cheekily. "I live to serve."

"Oh, shut it." Lily told her.

"Make me." She shot back.

"Don't tempt me." Lily said.

"Is this really important, sniping?" Amy demanded. "I feel like I should be higher on the list right now."

"Yes, right, sorry." The Doctor said. "As I was saying my gun happy friend here is going kill the first three of you to attack, plus him behind. So maybe you want to draw lots, or have a quiz."

While they had been talking, Rory had snuck up to Amy.

"What's he got?" his wife asked.

"Something, I hope." Rory replied. "But I tell you what. I do not like the way Lily is looking."

Amy looked over and saw what he meant. While her mate talked, Lily was visibly shaking, and Amy wasn't sure, but it looked like she might be glowing.

"Or maybe you could just listen a minute, because all I really want to do is accept your total surrender, and then I'll let you go in peace." The Doctor was saying. "Yes, you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes, People have suffered and died. But what's the point in two hearts, if you can't be a bit forgiving now and then."

He stared into the leader's face.

"Oooh!" he said "The Silence. You guys take that seriously, don't you? Okay, you got me, I'm lying. I'm not really going to let you go that easily. Nice thought, but it's not Christmas. First," he turned on the TV, "you tell me about the girl. Who is she? Why is she important? What's she for? Guys, sorry. But you're way out of time. Now, come on, a bit of history for you. Aren't you proud, because you helped?" He pulled out the antennae. "Do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion, and that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars, you just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years. And every single one of them, at some point in their lives, will look back at this man, taking that very first step, and they will never, ever forget it."

They stood in silence for a moment, watching the broadcast.

"Oh." The Doctor exclaimed, taking out a handset out of his pocket. "But they'll forget this bit. Ready?"

* * *

><p>Inside the cell at Area 51, Canton stood waiting.<p>

"Ready." He replied.

He pressed Amy's phone against another, jerry rigged one the Doctor had given him.

* * *

><p>"<em>It's one small step for man…<em>"

Suddenly the broadcast cut off and was replaced with the footage Canton had shot earlier. It was on a loop, repeating and repeating.

"You've give the order for your own execution." The Doctor told them.

Lily began backing away from the others, her hands griping her abdomen.

Her eyes were swirling gold.

"The whole planet just heard you." Her mate continued, not noticing.

"_One giant leap for mankind._"

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence!" He told them.

* * *

><p>The patrons in the bar turned and stood to face the Silence in their midst.<p>

"_You've just raised an army against yourself."_

* * *

><p>In the oval office, the secret service drew their guns and got the Silence in their sights.<p>

"_And now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day."_

* * *

><p>"How fast can you run?" The Doctor asked. "Because today's the day the human race throw you off their planet."<p>

The leader of the Silence began advancing on the Doctor, who quickly began backing up.

"They won't even know they're doing it." He continued as he reversed course. "I think, quite possibly the word you're looking for right now is, 'Oops'!"

"Run." He suddenly heard Lily said.

"Exactly." He agreed.

"No, I meant you, love." She told him.

He glanced back at her as the Silence began to gather energy.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Her back arched and gold light was thrown in every direction away from her, making everyone else shield their eyes. When it finally cleared, Lily stood still, her eyes closed.

"Lily." The Doctor called hesitantly, but she didn't respond.

River stepped up to the Doctor's side.

"Dark Phoenix." She whispered.

Lily's eyes snapped open and they saw that they were completely gold. No pupil, no iris, no whites, just gold.

"That's not possible." The Doctor said. "She was integrated into Lily when she became a Time Lord again. She isn't a separate entity anymore."

"I am what I have always been." The Dark Phoenix told him. "Eternal."

One of the Silence sent a bolt of energy at her, but it did nothing to her. The Dark Phoenix tilted her head and her lips turned up in a cruel smile.

"My turn." She said.

She sent a bolt at the Silence who had attacked, blasting him out of existence, her as the others attacked her.

"Back her up." The Doctor ordered River, who nodded and started shooting.

"I can't get her out!" Rory shouted, pulling at Amy's restraints.

"Go, just go!" Amy told him.

"We are not leaving without you!" Rory shot back.

"Will you just get your stupid face out of here?!" Amy shouted at him.

Rory froze and stared at her.

"Right, everyone who doesn't want to get caught in the cross fire should get in the TARDIS." River called.

The Doctor quickly used the sonic screwdriver to get Amy out and herded her and Rory to the TARDIS. He looked back just as a bolt from the Dark Phoenix went right past River.

"River, inside!" he yelled.

"But…" she called.

"NOW!" he yelled.

She did as ordered, ducking around him. The Doctor took one last look at his mate, who was laughing psychotically as she tore into a Silence, before going back inside.

He closed the door and squeezed his eyes shut. They all stood in silence as they listened to the Silence outside scream.

Finally, all was quiet.

The Doctor motioned for them all to stay put as he opened the door.

Outside, the Dark Phoenix stood in the center of the chamber, surrounded by the bodies of the Silence. She hadn't even bothered to rip them apart at the atomic level, choosing to rip them apart with her bare hands.

"Lily." He called softly, but she didn't react. "Dark Phoenix."

She turned and he saw that her eyes were still burning gold.

"Safe." She said, smiling peacefully. "My Doctor. My family. All safe."

She stumbled and her eyes instantly turned gray.

Lily looked at the carnage around her and fell to her knees. She lifted her hands and saw they were covered in the Silence's whitish blood.

She looked up at the Doctor and he saw the fear in her eyes.

"Theta." She whispered. "Get me out of here."

He quickly moved to her side and picked her up. She buried her face in his chest as he carried her inside the TARDIS, past their friends and into their room.

"Go." She said, as he sat her on the bed. "Finish this."

He nodded and left her.

She went to the bathroom and turned on the sink.

Then she started to scrub.

* * *

><p>The Doctor reentered the control room to find River moving around the console and putting the TARDIS in flight.<p>

"You can let me fly it!" he told her.

"Or we could go where we're supposed to." River shot back.

She looked at him and her face went tight with worry.

"Is she still-?" she asked.

"She's Lily." He said softly.

River sighed in relief.

Amy walked down to Rory, who was standing near the doors.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked. "Other than getting a firsthand idea of why River helped Lily commit suicide."

"You called me stupid." He said.

"I always call you stupid." She replied.

"No, but…my face." Rory said.

Amy reached out and opened Rory's hand to reveal her recorder.

"I wasn't sure who you were talking about." Rory told her. "You know, me, or…"

"Him?" Amy finished.

"Well, you did say, 'Dropped out of the sky'." Rory pointed out.

"It's a figure of speech, moron!" Amy told him.

She pulled him into a kiss.

"Thanks." Rory said as he pulled back.

"You're welcome." She replied, smiling.

* * *

><p>Nixon shook the Doctor's hand.<p>

"So we're safe again." He said.

"Safe?" the Doctor repeated. "No, of course you're not safe. There's a billion other things out there, waiting to burn your whole world."

Behind him, River, Rory, and Amy watched in amusement.

"But if you want to pretend you're safe, just so you can sleep at night, okay, you're safe." He continued. "But you're not really."

He turned to Canton.

"Canton." He said, shaking the man's hand. "Till the next one, eh?"

"Looking forward to it." Canton replied.

Lily came up behind River.

"Talk for a moment?" she asked quietly.

River glanced back at her and nodded, following her back inside the TARDIS.

"Canton just wants to get married." The Doctor told Nixon, not noticing his mate disappearing back into the TARDIS with River. "Helluva reason to kick him out of the FBI."

"I'm sure something can be arranged." Nixon replied.

"I'm counting on you." The Doctor pressed.

He started to walk away, but Nixon stopped him.

"Er, Doctor…" he said. "Canton here tells me you're…from the future. Hardly seems possible, but I was wondering…"

"Should warn you, I don't answer a lot of questions." The Doctor said.

"But I'm a President at the beginning of his time." Nixon said. "Dare I ask? Will I be remembered?"

"Oh, Dickie." The Doctor said. "Tricky Dickie. They're never going to forget you." He headed back to the TARDIS. "Say hi to David Frost for me."

"David Frost?" Nixon asked, confused.

The TARDIS doors closed and Nixon and Canton watched as it dematerialized.

"This person you want to marry." Nixon said to the ex-FBI agent. "Black?"

"Yes." Canton replied.

"Hmm." Nixon mused. "I know what people think of me, but perhaps I am a little more liberal."

"He is." Canton interrupted.

"I think the moon is far enough for now, don't you, Mr. Delaware?" Nixon said.

"I figured it might be." Canton agreed.

* * *

><p>While the Doctor said goodbye to Nixon and Canton, Lily and River stood in the control room.<p>

"I need you to tell me something." Lily told her. "We don't have much time, so if you say the word 'spoilers', I will punch you in the face, am I understood?"

River nodded.

"Am I a danger to him?" Lily whispered.

"Phoenix." River warned.

"No, I need to know." Lily interrupted. "I have to know. The Dark Phoenix – "

"Will never hurt the Doctor." River interrupted.

Lily swallowed thickly.

"I can't tell you much, but I can tell you a little, at least enough to give you some comfort." River told her. "The Dark Phoenix doesn't follow any moral code that any of us might subscribe to. The only thing she cares about is protecting those you consider family."

"But I can't control her." Lily said.

"No, you can't." River agreed. "She is a force stronger than anything else in this universe. But she is not good or bad, she simply is. You can't control her, all you can do is learn to live with the things she does."

"She used my body – my hands to rip apart an entire group of sentient beings." Lily said. "I swore I would never commit an act like that again. How am I supposed to live with that?"

"I don't know." River admitted. "All I know is you learn to. And as an added bonus, here's something the Doctor wouldn't want me to tell you: I have only ever seen the Dark Phoenix go on one other rampage. She did it in defense of someone she considered a part of her family. A child. It'll be hard, but you'll come out of it stronger. You both will."

"If it ever comes down to it, will you do what he either can't or won't?" Lily asked.

"Ask me again some time." River replied.

Lily nodded and moved away from River as the door opened and the Doctor, Rory, and Amy came back in.

"Everything alright in here?" the Doctor asked, looking between River and Lily.

"Just fine, sweetie." River said, smiling. "But I think it's time for me to go."

"Right." The Doctor said, moving to the console as Lily made her way out of the room. "One trip to Stormcage, coming right up."

* * *

><p>The Doctor and River stood in the door to her cell.<p>

"You could come with us." The Doctor told her. "I even promise to keep Lily from trying to kill you."

"But that would take away all her fun." River replied, smiling. "Besides, I escape often enough, thank you. And I have a promised to live up to. You'll understand, soon enough."

"Okay, up to you." He agreed, walking back to the TARDIS. "See you next time. Call me."

"What, that's it?" River asked, making him walk back to her. "What's the matter with you?"

"Have I forgotten something?" he asked.

"Oh, shut up." She said.

She pulled him to her, kissing him.

* * *

><p>Lily watched on the monitor in the room she shared with the Doctor as River kissed her mate. Her hands clenched and she took short, shallow breaths as her eyes flashed gold.<p>

As the Doctor gently pushed River away, she took a deep breath, calming herself. She shut off the monitor and sat down on the bed, turning the object over in her hands, staring off into space sadly.

* * *

><p>"Right, okay." The Doctor said as he pushed River away gently. "Interesting."<p>

"What's wrong?" River asked. "You're acting like we've never done that before."

"We haven't." The Doctor replied.

"We haven't?" River asked, sounding confused.

"I think I would remember Lily ripping off my head before coming after you." He told her. "But…um…look at the time, must be off."

He started backing away.

"But it was…um…nice." He continued. "Weird. Unexpected. Very dangerous. But you know what they say, there's a first time for everything."

He quickly entered the TARDIS.

"And a last time." River said sadly.

* * *

><p>"Rory, I'm going to need thermo couplings." The Doctor said, moving around the console. "The green ones and blue ones."<p>

"Okay, hold on." The other man replied, heading off.

"So." The Doctor said to Amy.

"So?" she replied.

"You're okay?" he asked.

"Fine." She said. "Head's a bit weird. There's lots of stuff I can't quite remember."

"After effect of the Silence." The Doctor told her. "Natural enough. That's not what I was asking. You told me you were pregnant."

"Yes." Amy answered.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"Because I was." Amy said. "I thought I was. Turns out I wasn't."

"No." The Doctor said. "Why did you tell me?"

"You're my friend." Amy told him. "You're my best friend."

"Did you tell Rory?" he asked.

* * *

><p>In the corridor outside the control room, Rory was listening to their conversation through the recorder,<p>

"No." Amy said.

"Amy, why tell me and not Rory?" the Doctor asked.

"Why do you think?" she asked. "I travelled with you in this TARDIS for so long. All that time. If I was pregnant for some of it, wouldn't it have had an effect? I don't want to tell Rory, this baby might have three heads, or like a time head or something."

"What's a time head?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know, but what if it had one?" Amy demanded.

"A time head?" the Doctor repeated incredulously.

"Shut up, all right!" Amy said, laughing.

The Doctor laughed too.

"Oi!" Amy called. "Stupid face."

Rory made his way inside sheepishly.

"Er, yeah." He said. "Hello."

"Taking that away from you, if you're going to listen in all the time." Amy said, looking at the recorder.

"Okay, that's a fair point." Rory conceded. "But you should've told me that you thought you were pregnant. I'm a nurse, I'm good with pregnancy."

"Not, as it turns out, that good." Amy mocked him with a smile as she made her way over to him. "So can you stop being stupid?"

She hugged him tightly.

"Er, no." Rory replied, lifting her off her feet.. "Never. I'm never, ever going to stop being stupid!"

"So, this little girl, it's all about her." The Doctor said, moving around the console.

He was looking at the monitor, which was a scanning Amy for pregnancy.

The results kept going back and forth between positive and negative.

"Who was she?" he continued. "Or we could just go off and have some adventures. Anyone in the mood for adventures? I am. You only live once."

Amy and Rory exchanged a look.

"Actually, Doctor…" Amy said. "We need to talk about something first."

"What?" he asked, not looking at them.

"Lily." Rory said. "What happened."

The Doctor sighed and looked up at them.

"Okay." He agreed. "What do you want me to say?"

"What happened back there?" Amy asked. "Cause that person who tore those Silence apart was not the Phoenix we know. She was…scary."

"It wasn't the Phoenix you know." The Doctor agreed. "She was the Dark Phoenix. Someone I didn't think existed anymore."

"What does that mean?" Rory asked.

The Doctor sighed.

"I don't know." He replied.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked into his bedroom to find Lily still sitting on the edge of the bed.<p>

"I saw River kiss you." She said without preamble.

"Okay." The Doctor said, shutting the door. "Not how I wanted to start this conversation."

"I saw you push her away too." Lily said, looking up at him.

He saw her eyes were flashing back and forth between gray and gold and could feel how tenuous her control was.

"I trust you." She told him. "And I may not trust her really, but something in me wants to protect River Song. God knows why."

The Doctor nodded and kneeled in front of her.

"I love you, Alyssy." He said softly.

"And I love you, Theta." She said, her voice thick.

He took her hands in his and looked at the object there.

"I thought the Dark Phoenix was integrated into your personality when you regenerated." He said.

"She was for the most part." Lily said. "But the vortex lives inside me, Theta. It's not something that was ever part of me to begin with me, so it couldn't be integrated back in, because it wasn't meant to be there to begin with."

The Doctor nodded.

"What is this?" he asked, motioning to the silver band in Lily's hand.

"It's Koschei's suppression device." She replied. "I've been working on it for awhile, tweaking it. I made it so it only blocks the power, not our bond. I've been working on it ever since I realized it was starting to overpower me. How do you like that? He's finally getting to protect me."

"You hid this from me." The Doctor said. "This and how bad it was getting. Anything thing else you want to spring on me?"

"Not that I can think of." She replied.

She hesitated and he could feel her hands shake.

"I don't ever want to hurt you." She whispered. "I can't risk that. Not ever. But…"

"But what?" he asked.

"What good am I going to be without my power?" she asked. "I won't be able to protect you, or Amy, or Rory. I'll be useless."

"Hey." He said harshly. "I didn't fall in love with your power, I fell in love with you. And you weren't even a Time Lady then, just a lowly human."

She chuckled at that.

"I don't care if you have the power to rip the universe apart in your little finger." He told her seriously. "I just care that you're here, traveling with me. I just want you."

Lily leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, kissing him sweetly.

"I will love you, always, no matter what." The Doctor told her when she pulled back.

He lifted the hand that had her engagement ring on it and kissed it.

"I promised that when I gave you this." He said, before reaching up and tapping the Firestar. "And when I gave you that. Trust me."

"Always." She said.

He took the silver band from her and turned it over in his hands.

"I don't want you to do this because you think I want it." He told her. "It has to be your decision."

Lily took the band back from him.

"I can't risk losing it like that again." She said. "What if next time it isn't the bad guys, but an innocent? No. This is what I need."

She opened the band and wrapped it around her throat. It glowed slightly and contracted until it was flush against her neck.

Her eyes met his and he saw that they were simply gray now.

_Can you still hear me? _He heard her ask in his mind.

_Hear and feel._ He replied, smiling. _I love you._

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly.

_I love you too._ She replied.

They sat there for a long time, simply holding each other.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Six months later…<strong>_

A homeless man was rummaging through the dumpster when the girl wandered down the alley, coughing, making the man turn.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Little girl…are you okay?"

"It's all right." She replied. "It's quite all right. I'm dying…but I can fix that. It's easy, really? See?"

The girl held up her hands, which were glowing gold. She giggled and the man ran away. The glow began to spread and she threw her arms out and her head back as she began to regenerate.

A/N: Day of the Moon is done! Whoohoo! I hope you guys enjoy it and you like the direction I'm taking it. Let me know in a review.

Abbey


	16. Who I Am in the Dark

Disclaimer: I'm not even bother, mainly because I've run out of ideas for the moment.

Ch. 16:

Lily stumbled into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She completely ignored the others as she pulled the cup of coffee that was waiting for her.

"Lily…" Rory said hesitantly, "are you alright?"

She looked up at him with blood-shot eyes and didn't say anything before just putting her head on the table.

"I'll take that as a no." Rory said.

"My head hurts." They heard her say, her voice muffled by the table.

"Here." The Doctor said, setting two pills on the table.

Lily looked up at him and glared.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" she demanded.

"Seriously, what is with Lily not wanting to take anything you give her?" Amy asked.

"Uh…it doesn't matter." The Doctor said.

"He gave me meth for a headache once." Lily said at the same time.

Rory and Amy stared at the Doctor.

"You gave her…meth." Rory said slowly.

"Not important." The Doctor said. "Would guys mind taking an easy trip?"

"Where are we going?" Amy asked.

"To visit some friends." He replied.

* * *

><p>"Lils!"<p>

Lily ran and jumped into Jack's arms, hugging him tightly.

Rory and Amy followed the Time Lords out of TARDIS and into the Torchwood Hub.

Jack let go of Lily so Donna could sweep her into a hug.

"It's so good to see you." Donna said, hugging her best friend tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, definitely feeling the love, Donna." The Doctor said as Donna hugged him and Lily moved on to Martha and Mickey.

"Oh shut up." She said. "I'm just making sure we don't need to stock up on survivalist supplies."

"You shut up." The Doctor shot back, smiling.

Donna just rolled her eyes.

"So, Ponds." He said, turning to Amy and Rory and handing them both credit cards. "Go crazy."

Amy grinned and snatched both cards from him.

"Come on, stupid face." She said, grabbing Rory's arm and dragging him out.

"I hate you." Rory called over his shoulder as his wife bodily dragged him out.

"I love you, too, Rory." Lily called back.

She wrapped her arms around Donna and Martha and left the boys to follow them to the couch.

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight." Jack said. "You've slowly been losing control of your powers, didn't bother to tell anyone, and now you're using the Master's tech to bind them. All the while, kicking an occupying alien force out of the Earth."<p>

"So just a typical Tuesday, then." Martha said.

Lily threw a pillow at her friend.

"Are you okay?" Donna asked.

"My head hurts and it is a little hard to get used to functioning without all the powers of the universe, but I think I'm handling it." Lily replied. "Speaking of, where is Gwen?"

"She got called to Ianto's daycare." Mickey said. "He's apparently got chicken pox."

"Ooo." Lily said, wincing. "I remember when I got chicken pox when I was living on Earth. I told my daycare there was no way I could have chicken pox because I hadn't been around any chickens. I don't think they stopped laughing for an hour."

Jack opened his mouth to say something when the rift alarms went off. Shawn went to the computer and quickly pulled up the alert.

"Weevil attack five blocks from here." He reported.

"We've got it." Mickey said, pulling Martha up with him.

She stuck her tongue out at him, but let him pull her along.

"We'll see you later." She called.

Lily waved and Jack sat down next to her, allowing her to curl into her side. Suddenly, they all jumped as a crash came from the pit.

"I can fix that!" the Doctor called.

"I take no responsibility for anything he breaks." Lily told her brother.

"I'll go supervise him." Jack said, getting up.

That left Lily sitting with Donna.

"How are you really?" her meta-twin asked.

Lily sighed.

"Scared I'm not going to be able to hold my own in this world without my powers." Lily said honestly.

Donna wrapped her arm around Lily.

"Remember before you regenerated and your powers were killing you?" she asked.

"Yeah." Lily replied, obviously wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, you had your powers bound then." Donna said. "And you went to toe to toe against every crazy creature we went up against."

"Yeah, but I was still using my powers." Lily pointed out.

"Yeah, but put the Doctor and you together and you are the most powerful force in this universe." Donna told her. "You don't need the power of the vortex. Just be who you were born to be. The Phoenix of Gallifrey, High Priestess of Gallifrey."

Lily sighed and leaned her head against her friend's shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay." Donna told her, wrapping her arm around Lily's shoulder. "It'll all be okay."

* * *

><p>Jack watched as the Doctor sifted through the alien junk that had fallen through the rift.<p>

"You know she's not okay, right?" he asked finally.

"Of course I know she's not okay." The Doctor said, focused on a long rod in his hands. "Why do you think I brought her here?"

The rod suddenly became electrified and the Doctor quickly dropped it.

"That's not supposed to do that." He said, picking it back up.

"Is she going to be able to handle not having her powers?" Jack asked.

The Doctor sighed and stopped messing with the rod to look up at the immortal.

"It's like any addiction." The Doctor replied. "She has to deal with it or she'll lose herself."

"You've been aware of this for awhile, haven't you?" Jack asked.

"That she was slowly slipping away from me?" The Doctor asked. "Of course I knew. But I couldn't stop her. She had to come to the conclusion for herself. If I had tried to stop her before, it would've pushed her away faster. No, she had to see just how far gone it was taking her."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Jack asked. "Letting her go cold turkey?"

"I think it's the only choice we've got." The Doctor replied simply. "And we should be happy she realized it as soon as she did. It easy to be around her and see her create things out of thin air, protect us from everything that might want to hurt us, and forget that we're never seeing the true scope of her power. She could destroy all of us, everything in the whole universe and reshape it to her whim. And she knows it too. She never lets us see it, because she doesn't want to be different from the people she loves, but what happens when she decides that something else is more important than keeping us comfortable?"

Jack swallowed as the full implication of that hit him. They heard Lily laugh and they both turned to look at her and Donna above them.

"Okay, so maybe this is the way to go." Jack conceded. "But can she do it?"

The Doctor sighed.

"I guess we'll see." He said.

* * *

><p>"Seriously, did you really need to buy all those clothes?" Rory asked.<p>

Lily and Amy were in the control room, sorting through all the clothes they had bought. They had spent the day with Gwen, Donna, and Martha, going from store to store in Cardiff, buying everything that struck their fancy.

"We bought things for you and the Doctor." Amy said, throwing a shirt at him.

"Yeah, plus girl bonding time." Lily said. "That's always good for you."

She looked at Amy and they both burst out laughing.

"Just take the win." The Doctor said, clapping Rory on the shoulder. "And try not to think about the fact that it isn't really a win."

Lily smiled as Rory took her place next to Amy and walked with the Doctor out of the room and down the corridor to her music room.

"I heard what you said to Jack." She said, sitting down at the piano and beginning to run through scales.

"I know." He replied, sitting down and watching her.

She moved from one scale to the next, the movement of the keys seeming to calm her.

"I'm trusting you." She said, modulating again. "I'm trusting you to keep me under control."

She looked at him, still playing.

"I can't do this on my own." She told him.

He looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't just speaking for herself. In her eyes, he could see the ages of the Vortex coming through.

"Be Time's Champion." She told him. "Keep me sane. Please."

He stood up and came to sit next to her on the piano bench.

"I will always be here for you." He told her. "You are my mate. Nothing will ever keep me from keeping you safe."

She nodded and just kept playing and he just listened.

A/N: Okay, just a little bit for me. BTW, the chicken pox story and the scales playing are all things I have done/do.

I would also like to take this moment to thank all of you who have stuck with me all this time! You guys are the best readers a writer could ask for. I love you guys.

Also, I have a poll going on my profile for what my new penname should be. Please go vote!

And don't forget to review!

Abbey


	17. Meanwhile on the TARDIS

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, do you think I would be sitting in an office, bored out of my mind? Okay, I'd probably still be in the office, but at least there would be the chance that David Tennant, Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill, or John Barrowman might wander in…*snaps out of day dream* What were we talking about?

Ch. 17:

"No."

The Doctor pouted as Lily moved around their room, still dressed in her pajamas and refusing to change.

"But…Pirate ship!" he sputtered.

"And I'm not saying you can't go, I'm just not going." Lily told him.

"But Lily!" He whined.

Lily sighed and sat down next to him.

"Theta, I'm still weak." She told him. "I need rest."

"You need to stop hiding." He shot back, trying to make her mad so she'd prove him wrong, but it didn't work.

"Maybe." She agreed calmly. "But right now, I'm doing what I think is best, and that's staying here for right now."

The Doctor sighed.

"Alright." He agreed. "I still wish you'd come, but I won't make you."

"Like you could." She said, smirking.

"At least come see us off." He told her, pulling her to her feet.

They walked hand in hand down the hallways of the TARDIS, Lily leaning her head on his arm as they walked.

They reached the control room to find Amy and Rory waiting for them.

"You're not coming?" Rory asked, seeing her attire. "You're leaving us alone? With him?"

Amy smacked his arm and the Doctor glared at him, but Lily just laughed, moving over the railing to lean on it, gripping it with one hand.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine." She told him.

"If I die, I'll never forgive you." He shot back.

"What? Again?" Lily replied, smirking.

Rory just glared at her.

"What are you going to do while we're away?" Amy asked.

"Oh, just putter around." Lily replied. "Clean up a little. Do some work on the TARDIS to fix the work the Doctor has done on the TARDIS. You know, the usual."

"Okay, we're leaving before you manage to insult all of us." The Doctor said, kissing her swiftly.

"Have fun storming the pirate ship!" Lily called after them.

The door shut and Lily sagged, breathing hard. She reached over and peeled her other hand off the railing. She gently ran her finger over where her nails had bit into her palm and the mark the bar had left.

She closed her hand again and slowly headed off to the medical bay.

* * *

><p>She quickly healed her hand and turned to the scanner. She quickly ran a full body scan, took one look at the scan and quickly erased it from the database.<p>

She sighed and moved out of that room and down the hall. She stood in front of a pale wood door for a moment before taking a deep breath and walking inside.

Inside was a large, circular room, lined with mirrors.

"_Back again to test your sanity?_"

"I'm not insane." Lily replied. "Show yourself."

A young looking woman, a little older than Lily, stepped out of the shadows and grinned.

"_Hello, Lily_." She said.

"Hello, Phoenix." Lily replied.

The woman, who had short brown hair and gold eyes, walked around the mirrored edge of the empty room, coming to a stop in front of Lily. She raised her hand and quirked her eyebrow at the other woman. Lily raised her hand and rested her hand against the glass separating her from the phantom.

"_Tell me how you're not insane again_." The Dark Phoenix said.

Lily pulled her hand away.

"I'm not insane." She repeated. "But I am something different, and with everything I've been through and am going through, a little hallucination is to be expected."

The Dark Phoenix laughed.

"_I suppose you're right_." She agreed. "_How did you know I was here?_"

"I've been seeing you for days." Lily admitted, sitting down on the floor. "In my reflection. A wink that I didn't wink, a smirk I didn't smirk. I've been pushing it as far back in my mind as I could, waiting for some time when Theta would leave me on my own."

"_Why?_" The Dark Phoenix asked. "_Afraid he'll think you're insane?_"

Lily was silent.

"_Afraid he'll leave you?_" she said nastily.

Lily glared at the woman in the mirror.

"He wouldn't leave me." She said. "He loves me."

"_If he wouldn't leave you, why bind me?_" The Dark Phoenix asked. "_Wouldn't he love you no matter what?_"

"One can love someone and still fear them Lily said softly. "I saw the look in his eye when I tried to attack River."

"_River._" The Dark Phoenix sneered. "_Would the universe be so bad if we had put an end to her?_"

"I believe the Doctor would dislike it." Lily said, absentmindedly picking at her sleeve.

The Dark Phoenix walked around the room.

"_It bothers you, doesn't it?_" she said. "_How much he cares for her._"

"She's fascinating to him." Lily said. "She's a puzzle, and he can't resist a puzzle."

"_But she's not just a puzzle, is she?_" The Dark Phoenix murmured, more to herself than to Lily. "_The way he looks at her. She could so easily…_"

"Replace us." Lily whispered.

The Dark Phoenix locked her eyes on Lily's.

"_Replace you._" She said. "_He doesn't love me. He loves you._"

"You're a part of me." Lily said.

"_I'm glad you've finally admitted that._" The other woman said, smirking.

"A part of me I can't control." Lily continued.

"_Wuss._" The Dark Phoenix muttered.

"Bitch." Lily shot back.

"_It's not nice to call yourself names._" The Dark Phoenix said, walking back around the mirrors. "_Now, can we go back to why you locked away the thing that made you most special in this universe? Namely me?_"

"I can't control you." Lily said, frowning. "You're dangerous."

"_We're dangerous._" The Dark Phoenix corrected. "_I am you and you are me. We are one._"

"And what am I supposed to say when I lose control and you strike out at an ally?" Lily demanded. "What then, Dark One? What do I do when I wake up with blood on my hands and my mate looking at me in horror? I'm the one who has to deal with the fallout of your bloody actions, while you get to go back to sleep! I could've killed her!"

"_We should have!_" The Dark Phoenix shot back. "_Instead, we drove him into her arms."_

"No." Lily whispered.

"_He kissed her._" The Dark Phoenix sneered.

"SHUT UP!" Lily yelled, surging to her feet.

She felt the band around her neck contract and she fell to her knees with a gasp.

"_You hate her._" The Dark Phoenix said as Lily tried to regain her breath. "_She dangerous to the Doctor. This is what we were made for. To protect him. Killing her protects him._"

"No." Lily replied, shaking her head. "Killing her only protects us and hurts him. I won't do that."

She raised her eyes to meet the Dark Phoenix's.

"I won't let you control me."

She staggered to her feet.

"You may have been stronger than me when I was human, but I am Time Lord now." She continued. "I am the High Priestess and the mate of the Doctor. You will not control me."

She turned and walked towards the door.

"_The day is coming._" The Dark Phoenix called, stopping her. "_The day when your need for my power will outweigh your need to keep him comfortable. A day of blood when you have nowhere else to run to. That day…you're realize who we really are. One._"

Lily squared her shoulders and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Lily woke with a start to the Doctor shaking her. She sat up in confusion and realized she was in the control room.<p>

"How was the Pirate ship?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Fine, met an automated sick bay posing as a siren and trying to heal the whole human race with no idea how." He replied distractedly, taking her hand in his. "What happened here?"

He pressed her hand and she hissed in pain. She looked at her hand and saw where her nails had bit into her palm and the bruise from the railing.

"I thought…" she said, confused. "I don't know."

He looked at her in concern.

"Come on." He said, pulling her to her feet. "Let's get you fixed up and into bed."

She let him pull her out of the room, but as she moved past the console, she caught sight of her reflection.

And it smirked at her.

A/N: Okay, so I don't really like the episode Curse of the Black Spot, so I decided to focus on Lily for a chapter. I hope that's okay. Let me know what you thought.

Abbey


	18. The Doctor's Wife: Letters from Home

Disclaimer: Don't even start with me.

Ch. 18:

An older woman led a younger woman through the tunnels. Both were dressed oddly, the older woman in cobbled together clothes, and the young woman in a worn Victorian gown. The tunnels were lit by a sickly green glow and overflowing with junk. They finally arrived in a large cavern where a man was waiting.

"Will it be me, Uncle?" the young woman asked.

"Yes, it's going to be you." The man replied. "I only wish I could go in your place, Idris." He hesitated for a moment. "Nah, I don't, cos it's really going to hurt."

An Ood with green eyes gripped Idris' arm tightly.

"It's starting." She said.

The Ood helped Idris up some steps to a small platform that glowed green as well.

"What will happen?" she asked.

"Oh." The other woman said. "Um, er, Nephew will drain your mind and your soul from your body and leave your body empty."

Nephew placed a hand on either side of her head.

"I'm scared!" Idris said.

Smoke began to rise from the platform and Idris fell to her knees, gasping.

"I expect so, dear." The older woman said. "But soon you'll have a new soul . There'll be a Time Lord coming!"

* * *

><p>The Doctor was telling Rory a story as they stood in the console room.<p>

"Then we discovered it wasn't the robot king at all, it was the real one." He told the human. "Fortunately I was able to re-attach the head."

Rory looked up at Amy as she came down the stairs.

"Do you believe any of this stuff?" he asked.

"I was there." His wife replied.

Some lights went off on the console.

"Oh, it's the warning lights." He grumbled. "I'm getting rid of those, they never stop!"

He slapped the consoled as Rory caught up with Amy.

"Hey." He said softly. "You're still thinking about it, aren't you?"

"Shhh!" Amy hissed. "We saw him die!"

"Yeah, 200 years in the future." Rory whispered.

"Yes, but it's still going to happen." Amy whispered back.

There was a knocking at the TARDIS door, and they all froze.

"What was that?" Amy asked as she and Rory joined the Doctor by the console.

"The door." The Doctor replied. "It knocked."

He walked towards the door as Lily came crashing down the stairs.

"What the hell could be knocking in deep space?" she demanded.

"We are in deep space, right?" Rory asked.

"Very, very deep." The Doctor replied.

The door knocked again.

"I would like to go on record and point out that the last time we dealt with mysterious knocking, a bus full of humans tried to kill us." Lily pointed out.

"Somebody's knocking, Alyssy." The Doctor said.

"I'm pointing Amy and Rory at you, Theta, when they go crazy and try to kill us." She shot back.

The Doctor slowly opened the door to find a small box floating there. Lily let out a small cry at the sight of it and the Doctor grinned widely.

"Oh, come here." He said. "Come here, you scrumptious little beauty!"

The Doctor reached out, but the box shot past him and into the TARDIS. It zoomed around Lily, who laughed happily, before zooming back the Doctor and hitting him in the chest. He held it between his hands and Lily walked over, tears in her eyes.

"A box?!" Rory sputtered.

"Doctor, what is it?" Amy asked.

"I've got mail!" he exclaimed.

He took Lily's hand and they walked back to the console.

"Time Lord emergency messaging system." He explained. "In an emergency, we'd wrap up thoughts in psychic containers and send them through time and space. Anyway, there's a Time Lord out there, and it's one of the good ones!"

"You said there were no other Time Lords left." Rory said.

"There are no Time Lords left in the universe, but the universe isn't where we're going!" the Doctor said, throwing the box at Amy. "See that snake? The mark of the Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn't feel like himself without the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times. Ooh, she was a bad girl!"

The TARDIS sparked and shook, and they all held on to the console.

"What's happening?!" Rory shouted.

"We're leaving the universe!" The Doctor replied.

"How can you leave the universe?" Amy demanded.

"With enormous difficulty!" The Doctor said. "Right now I'm burning up the TARDIS rooms to give us some welly. Goodbye, swimming pool, goodbye scullery, sayonara, squash court seven!"

"You touch my music room or my garden, I kill you." Lily told him.

"I promise your rooms are safe, my love." He told her, grinning.

"Thank you, my love." She replied before leaning over. "Hey, guess what? We're not alone."

She kissed him lightly and the TARDIS stopped with a jolt.

"Okay." Amy said. "Okay. Where are we?"

"Outside the universe, where we've never, ever been before." The Doctor replied.

The power began to wind down and the lights dimmed.

"Is that meant to be happening?" Rory asked.

"No." Lily replied as she and the Doctor began scrambling around the console. "The TARDIS power is draining away."

She stepped back and closed her eyes as she concentrated.

"Theta." She whispered.

"I know." He replied, still trying the controls. "That's impossible."

"What is that?" Rory asked.

"It's as if the matrix, the soul of the TARDIS, has just vanished." The Doctor answered. "Where would it go?"

* * *

><p>Idris sat up with a gasp, golden energy escaping from her mouth with the sound of the TARDIS engines. The others watched as she raised her hand, which glowed gold.<p>

* * *

><p>The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS and he and Lily stepped out, followed by Amy and Rory. The surface outdoors was covered in rusting spaceships of all kinds.<p>

"So what kind of trouble's your friend in?" Amy asked.

"He was in a bind, a bit of a pickle, sort of distressed." The Doctor replied.

"Translation: we don't know." Lily said, making Amy chuckle.

"But what is this?" Rory asked. "The scrap yard at the end of the universe?"

"Not end of, outside of." The Doctor replied.

"How can we be outside the universe?" the other man asked. "The universe is everything."

The Doctor put his arm around Rory to explain and Lily caught Amy's eye and quickly looked away before she started to laugh.

"Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those tiny little bubbles on the outside." The Doctor told him.

"Oh god, not another analogy." Lily muttered. "Rory, it's nothing like that. Ignore him."

"Hey!" the Doctor protested. "But she's right, it's nothing like that."

"Okay." Rory said.

"Theta, she's completely drained." Lily said, resting her hand on the TARDIS.

"Yeah, but feel what's around us." He replied.

Lily sighed.

"Rift energy." She said.

"She'll probably refuel just by being here." The Doctor said. "Now this place, what do we think, eh?"

He picked up some dirt and threw it into the air.

"Gravity's almost earth-normal, air's breathable, but it smells like…" he trailed off.

"Armpits." Amy finished.

"Armpits?" Lily questioned.

"Armpits." The Doctor confirmed.

"Well as long as we're agreed." Lily replied, moving off.

"Where did this stuff come from?" Rory asked.

"There's a rift." The Doctor said. "Now and then, stuff gets sucked through it."

"Hey!" Lily called from where she had wandered off too.

She picked up a jacket from the ground and brushed it off.

"Damn rift ate my jacket." She muttered, swinging it over her arm. "Of all the rabbit holes we could've fallen down, we choose the trash shoot."

"Thief!" came a shout.

They all turned and saw a woman running towards them.

"Thief! You're my thief!" she yelled. "And where's my daughter? My bright shining one! There you are! My thief and bright one!"

An older woman and man walked behind her.

"She's dangerous!" the woman called. "Guard yourselves!"

"Look at you!" the younger woman said as she reached the Time Lords. "Goodbye! No, not goodbye, what's the other one?"

She grabbed the Doctor and kissed him before pulling back and doing the same to Lily.

"Watch out!" the older man called. "Careful, keep back from her!"

They couple came and pulled the young woman off a stunned Lily.

"Welcome, strangers, lovely." The older man said. "Sorry about the mad person."

"Why am I a thief?" the Doctor asked. "What have I stolen?"

"Me." The woman replied. "You're going to steal me. No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Tense are difficult, aren't they?"

"Oh, we are sorry, my dove." The older woman said. "She's off her head. They call me Auntie."

She shook the Doctor's hand with a large oversized one.

"I'm Uncle." The man said. "I'm everybody's uncle. Just keep back from this one, she bites!"

"Do I?" the young woman asked. "Excellent."

She bit Lily's neck and the Time Lady yelped, trying to push her off. Finally, Auntie and Uncle pulled her off and the Doctor moved to inspect the bite.

"Oh, biting's excellent!" the young woman said. "It's like kissing, only there's a winner!"

"I show you a winner, you bi-!" Lily said, but the Doctor held her back.

"Sorry, she's a doolally." Uncle said.

"No, I'm doolally." The woman protested. "I'm…I'm…It's on the tip of my tongue. I've just had a new idea about kissing. Come here, you!"

She chased after the Doctor and Lily chased after her.

"Idris, no, no!" Auntie yelled.

Lily caught up and the Doctor hid behind her as Lily glared the woman, Idris, down.

"Oh, but now you're angry." Idris told her. "No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you both angry."

"Sorry?" The Doctor asked, peeking out from behind Lily. "The little what? Boxes?"

"Your chin is hilarious!" Idris told him, laughing and reaching around Lily to pinch him and Lily promptly smacked her hand.

Idris refocused, this time on Rory.

"It means the smell of dust after rain." She told him.

"What does?" Rory asked.

"Petrichor." Idris replied.

"But I didn't ask." Rory said.

"Not yet." She replied. "But you will."

"No, Idris, I think you should have a rest." Auntie said.

"Yes, yes, good idea!" Idris agreed. "I'll just see if there's an off switch."

She promptly fell to ground.

"Is that it?" Uncle asked. "She's dead now. So sad."

"She's still breathing." Rory pointed out.

"Nephew, take Idris somewhere she cannot bite people." Uncle ordered.

The Doctor turned and saw a Ood.

"Oh, hello!" he said. "Look, Phoenix. An Ood."

"A what?" Amy asked.

"An Ood." Lily replied.

"What's an Ood?" the other woman asked.

"Oods are good, love an Ood." The Doctor said, walking over. "Hello, Ood. Can't you talk? Oh, I see, it's damaged."

He reached out and took the Ood's broken translator ball.

"May I?" he asked, opening the translator. "It might be on the wrong frequency."

"Nephew was broken when he came here." Auntie said. "Why, he was half dead. House repaired him. House repaired all of us."

The Doctor fixed the ball and it started transmitting garbled messages.

"If you are receiving this message, please help me." It said. "Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Help! I'm still alive! I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock-like planet."

_Theta…_ Lily said through their bond. _I recognize that voice…_

_I know._ The Doctor replied.

"What was that?" Rory asked, catching the look the two mated Time Lords exchanged. "Was that him?"

"No." Lily said slowly. "That was something else. Something that isn't possible. That's…"

"Who else is here?" The Doctor demanded. "Tell me. Show me! Show me!"

"Just what you see." Auntie said. "It's just the four of us, and the House. Nephew, will you take Idris somewhere safe where she can't hurt nobody?"

Nephew picked up Idris and took her away.

"The House?" the Doctor asked. "What's the House?"

"House is all around you, my sweets." Auntie replied. "You are standing on him."

Uncle jumped up and down.

"This is the House." Auntie continued. "This world. Would you like to meet him?"

"Meet him?!" Rory said incredulously.

"I'd love to." The Doctor said.

"This way." Uncle said. "Come, please. Come."

Auntie and Uncle headed inside and the time travelers lagged behind.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked. "What were those voices?"

"Time Lords." Lily replied grimly. "It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere, close by, are lots and lots of Time Lords. And they're crying out for help."

The Doctor took her hand and they walked off, leaving Amy and Rory to follow.

* * *

><p>Idris was locked in a cell with Nephew standing guard.<p>

"I'm…" she muttered. "I'm…Big word, sad word. Why is that word so sad? No! Will be sad. Will be sad."

* * *

><p>Auntie and Uncle led the way to a cavern.<p>

"Come." Uncle said. "Come, come. You can see the House and he can look at you and he…"

The Doctor looked through the grate on the ground, while Lily walked to the wall.

_God, I wish I had my powers._ Lily said silently. _I would tear this place to the ground to find our brothers and sisters._

The Doctor could hear the restrained fury in her voice and he looked at her sharply.

"Alyssy." He said aloud, making the others start.

She looked at him and her eyes flashed. A second later she gasped slightly and her hand flew to the band around her neck and she stumbled slightly.

The Doctor stood and moved told her, but she held out her hand.

_I'm alright. _ She told him. _I'm sorry. I'm alright._

He studied her for a moment before moving back to the grate.

"So, it's sentient, right?" he asked. "This asteroid is sentient."

"We walk on his back, breathe his air." Auntie said. "Eat his food…"

"Smell its armpits." Amy muttered.

Suddenly Auntie and Uncle's mouths moved in tandem, speaking with a voice that wasn't their own.

"And do my will." It said. "You are most welcome, travelers."

"Doctor…that voice, that's the asteroid talking?" Amy asked.

"Yes." He replied. "So you're like a…sea urchin. Hard outer surface. That's the planet we're walking on. Big, squishy oogly thing inside. That's you."

"That is correct, Time Lord." House replied.

"So you've met Time Lords before?" Lily asked, moving next to her mate.

"Many travelers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew, Time Lady." House replied. "I repair them when they break."

"So there are Time Lords here then?" the Doctor asked.

"Not anymore, but there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by." House said.

"Well, there won't be any more after us." The Doctor said. "Last of the Time Lords, last TARDIS."

"A pity." House said. "Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed, if you will."

Auntie and Uncle were freed from House's control.

"We're not actually going to stay here, are we?" Rory asked.

"It seems like a friendly planet." The Doctor replied. "Literally."

"Besides, until the TARDIS recharges, we're stuck here." Lily said softly.

"Mind if we poke around a bit?" the Doctor asked.

"You can look all you want." Auntie replied. "Go, look. House loves you."

Auntie cupped Amy's face, and they saw that her left arm was definitely not a woman's.

"Come on then, gang." The Doctor said slowly. "We're just going to, erm…see the sights."

The four moved down the tunnels, leaving Auntie and Uncle behind.

A/N: *peeks out from behind a titanium reinforced door* Is it safe to come out? I didn't mean to be gone so long, I'm sorry! Real world often gets in the way of more important things like fanfiction! All I can do is beg for forgiveness and then beg for reviews, because I'm shameless. Remember that I love you all, and if you kill me you'll never see this finished.

Abbey


	19. The Doctor's Wife: Where Are They?

Disclaimer: I love the Doctor and nothing can make me stray. Not even Benedict Cumberbatch…okay, that's a lie. Sorry.

Ch. 19:

Idris was in her cage, yelling gibberish.

"Oh!" she shouted. "What was that? Do fish have fingers? Like a nine year old trying to rebuild a motorbike. What am I saying? Why am I saying that? Thief! Where's my bright one? Thief! Bright One!"

* * *

><p>"Shh, shh." The Doctor said.<p>

In the distance, they could hear Idris yelling.

"So as soon as the TARDIS is refueled, we go, yeah?" Rory asked.

"No." Lily replied. "There are Time Lords here. We heard them and they need us."

"You told me about your people and you told me what you did." Amy said.

"Yes, but if they're like the Corsair, they're good." The Doctor said. "I can save them!"

"Then tell them you destroyed the others?!" Amy replied.

"I can explain." The Doctor said. "Tell them why I had to."

"You want to be forgiven." Amy said softly.

"Don't we all?" Lily said, liking her fingers with the Doctor's.

Amy nodded.

"What do you need from me?" she asked.

"My screwdriver." The Doctor replied. "I left it in the TARDIS. It's in my jacket."

"You're wearing your jacket." Rory pointed out.

"My other one." The Doctor answered.

"You have two of those?" Rory asked, bewildered.

"You're trying to apply logic to him again." Lily said in a sing-song voice.

"Right, sorry." Rory replied.

"I'll get it, but, Doctor, listen to me."Amy said. "Don't either of you get emotional because that's when you make mistakes."

"Yes, milady." Lily replied snarkily.

"And don't you forget it." Amy said. "I'll call you from the TARDIS."

"You'll be calling yourself." Lily told her. "Mine's in the TARDIS."

"Fine." Amy said, tossing the Time Lady her phone. "Rory, look after them."

She turned and left.

"Rory, look after her." Lily ordered.

"Yeah." He replied, heading off after his wife.

Lily pulled the Doctor and they continued on.

* * *

><p>Amy turned at the TARDIS door and stared at her husband.<p>

"I told you to look after them." She said.

"They'll be fine." Rory replied. "They're Time Lords."

"It's what they're called." Amy shot back. "It doesn't mean they actually know what they're doing."

The both entered the TARDIS, not noticing the energy beginning to work its way up the sides of the spaceship.

Amy went straight to the phone and dialed the Doctor and Lily.

"We're here." She told him. "Screwdriver's in your jacket, yeah?"

* * *

><p>"Yeah, It's around somewhere." The Doctor said, taking his screwdriver out of his pocket. "Have a good look."<p>

His eyes locked with Lily's and she nodded as he activated the screwdriver.

* * *

><p>Amy hung up the phone as the doors clicked shut and locked.<p>

"Did you do that?" Amy asked.

"I didn't do anything." Rory replied, holding up his hands.. "Right. Jacket."

* * *

><p>"Come on!" the Doctor said as he and Lily headed down the corridor. "Where are you? Now where are you all? Where are you?"<p>

"Theta, just stop." Lily said, grabbing his arm. "Just…listen."

He sighed, but she linked her fingers with hers and closed her eyes. After a second, he closed his eyes.

"There you go." Lily said, smiling.

They opened their eyes and he led them to a curtain. He pushed it back, revealing a small alcove.

"Well, they can't all be in here." The Doctor murmured.

"Theta, listen." Lily said.

They both turned as they heard murmuring voices and found themselves at a cabinet, set in the wall. The Doctor opened the door to find it filled with glowing boxes.

"Damn it." Lily growled.

The voices were louder, crying for help.

"Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection." The Doctor said as Auntie and Uncle came up behind them. "Nice job. Brilliant job. Really thought we had some friends here…but this is what the Ood translator picked up. Cries for help from the long dead."

He turned to face them and Lily reached forward to gently touch the boxes, a tear falling down her cheek.

"How many Time Lords have you lured here, the way you lured us?" Lily demanded, spinning around. "And what happened to them all?"

"House, House is kind and he is wise." Auntie said.

"House repairs you when you break." The Doctor parroted angrily. "Yes, I know. But how does he mend you?"

He scanned Uncle quickly.

"You have the eyes of a 20 year old." He said.

"Thank you." Uncle replied.

"He means it literally." Lily replied, looking closely. "Your eyes are 30 years younger than you are."

She reached forward ad ripped off Uncle's hat.

"Your ears don't match, your right arm is two inches longer than your left, and how's your dancing, 'cause with two left feet, I imagine it's difficult." She said.

"Patchwork people." The Doctor continued. "You've been repaired and patched up so often, I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you. I had an umbrella like you once."

He put the screwdriver, slapping Auntie's hand away.

"Oh, now, it's been a great arm for me, this." She protested.

"Corsair." The Doctor said, spotting the tattoo on her arm.

"He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he, Uncle?" Auntie said. "Big fella. I got the arm and then Uncle got the spine and the kidneys."

"You bitch." Lily hissed. "His kidneys! You gave us hope and dragged us here to rip it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous. And if you knew anything about us, you'd realize how bad a plan that was."

"Basically…run!" the Doctor told them.

Auntie ran off as Uncle backed away.

"Poor old Time Lords." He said. "Too late. House is too clever."

He left just as the phone began to ring.

* * *

><p>"No sonic screwdriver." Amy said, annoyed. "Also, the doors seem to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you lied to us."<p>

"Time Lord stuff." The Doctor replied. "I needed you out of the way."

"What?" Amy demanded. "We're not good enough for your smart new friends?"

"'The boxes will make you angry.'" The Doctor quoted. "How could she know?"

"Lily, what is he talking about?" Amy asked with a sigh.

"Stay put." The Doctor ordered. "Stay exactly where you are."

"We don't have much….choice." Amy muttered as he hung up.

* * *

><p>Lily and the Doctor found the cage where Idris was being held.<p>

"How did you know about the boxes?" the Doctor demanded. "You said they'd make me angry. How did you know?"

"Ah, it's my thief." She said. "And you brought my bright one."

"Who are you?" Lily asked.

"It's about time." She chastised.

* * *

><p>Outside the TARDIS, the green energy was up to the window, and inside, Amy was fuming.<p>

"He's not trusting us." She said. "And both he and Lily are being emotional. This is bad, this is very , very bad."

"Yeah…" Rory said, noticing the green on the windows. "I think it probably is."

Amy turned.

"Sometimes I hate being right." She said.

* * *

><p>"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded.<p>

"Do you not know me?" Idris asked. "Just because they put me in here?"

"They said you were dangerous." The Doctor replied.

"Not the cage, stupid." She told him. "In here."

She put her hands on her cheeks.

"They put me in here." She continued. "I'm the…Oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go…"

She opened her mouth and the sounds of the TARDIS came out.

"The TARDIS?" The Doctor whispered.

Lily moved closer, staring at Idris in awe.

"Time and relative dimension in space." She said quickly. "Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me! I'm the TARDIS."

"No, you're not!" The Doctor said, striding away. "You're the bitey, mad lady. The TARDIS is up and downy stuff in a big blue box."

"Yes, that's me." She said happily. "A type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece when you were young, and the first time you touched my console, you said…"

"I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever known." The Doctor said softly.

"And then you stole me." She said, smiling. "And I stole you."

She held out her hand to Lily, who hesitantly slipped hers into it.

"I borrowed you." The Doctor said.

_My bright Phoenix._ She said silently to Lily. _My burning child._

Lily gasped.

"Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken." Idris continued aloud. "What makes you think I would ever give you back? Especially after you brought me my Phoenix."

"You're the TARDIS?" The Doctor asked weakly.

"Yes." She replied.

"My TARDIS?" he demanded.

"My Doctor." She confirmed. "And my Phoenix. Oh! We have now reached the point in the conversation where you open the lock."

He pulled out his screwdriver and opened the lock, allowing Idris to step out. She took Lily's face between her hands.

"You haven't talked to us for so long." Lily whispered. "I thought we had made you upset."

"Oh, my dear one." Idris said, kissing Lily's forehead before turning to the Doctor. "Are all people like this?"

"Like what?" he asked.

"So much bigger on the inside." She replied. "I'm…Oh, what is the word? It's so big, so complicated. It's so sad."

"But why?" the Doctor asked. "Why pull the living soul from a TARDIS and pop it in a tiny human head? What does it want you for?"

"It doesn't want me." She replied, sniffing him.

"How do you know?" he asked, sniffing his jacket.

"House eats TARDISes." Idris replied.

"House what?" Lily asked. "What do you mean 'House eats TARDISes'?"

"I don't know." Idris answered. "It's something I heard you say."

"When?" Lily asked, confused.

"In the future." She replied.

"House eats TARDISes?" Lily asked.

"There you go." Idris said happily, putting a finger on the Doctor's lips. "What are fish fingers?"

"My brain hurts." Lily muttered.

"When do I say that?" the Doctor asked, muffled by the finger.

"Any second." Idris replied.

"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed, moving away. "House feeds on rift energy and TARDISes are bursting with it. And not raw. All lovely and cooked, processed food…Mmm, fish fingers."

"You and Amy and those fish fingers." Lily said fondly, shaking her head.

"Do fish have fingers?" Idris asked.

"But you can't eat a TARDIS." The Doctor continued, ignoring them. "It would destroy you. Unless, unless…"

"Unless you deleted the TARDIS matrix first." Idris confirmed.

The Doctor chuckled.

"So it deleted you." He said.

"But House just can't deleted a TARDIS' consciousness-" Lily started.

"That would blow a hole in the universe." Idris replied. "He pulls out the matrix, sticks it in a living receptacle and feeds off the remaining Artron energy."

"I was about to say that." Lily told her.

"I don't suppose you have to now." Idris replied.

Lily froze.

"We sent Amy and Rory there." She whispered. "They'll be eaten."

The Doctor quickly pulled out the phone.

"Amy!" he yelled as she answered the phone. "Amy, Rory, get the hell out of there!"

He and Lily took off through the tunnels, trying to get to the surface.

* * *

><p>Amy tried the controls as Rory went to the doors.<p>

"Doctor, something's wrong." She told him.

"It's House." The Doctor told her. "He's after the TARDIS. Just get out, both of you!"

Rory tried the doors, but they wouldn't budge.

"We can't." She said. "You locked the door, remember?"

* * *

><p>"But I've unlocked it." The Doctor shot back as he and Lily reached the surface.<p>

* * *

><p>"You stupid well haven't!" Amy yelled.<p>

The Cloister Bell began to ring and the console room went dark as a strong wind picked up.

"Doctor, I don't like this." She whispered.

* * *

><p>The Doctor ran to the TARDIS and tried to open the doors with his screwdriver. When that didn't work, he snapped his fingers.<p>

"Open!" he shouted.

They stayed shut.

* * *

><p>"Doctor?" Amy asked fearfully.<p>

* * *

><p>"Open this door!" he yelled.<p>

Lily slammed her hand into the door and when her hair shifted, he saw blood running down her neck where the suppression device was cutting into her neck. He reached into her mind and saw her fighting against the device trying to reach enough power to open the doors.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

_Stop. _He ordered. _You're only hurting yourself._

_We need to get to them._ She cried, tears falling as she panicked.

* * *

><p>"Rory, hold my hand." Amy whispered.<p>

* * *

><p>"Amy!" The Doctor shouted, pounding on the door as Lily ran her hands through her hair and paced. "Rory!"<p>

The TARDIS started to dematerialize and the Doctor stepped back, trying to call Amy on the phone.

"Amy?" he called. "Amy, can you hear me?"

He shut the phone, giving up.

"Okay." He murmured. "Right. I don't…I really don't know what to do." He smiled. "That's a new feeling."

Lily reached over and smacked him across the back of the head.

"Right." He said, shaking himself. "Come here."

He pulled her to him and looked at the damage the suppression device had done to her neck.

"Why would you ever design this thing to do that?" he said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping away the blood.

"The problem with serum was I could burn it off if I tried hard enough." She said softly. "We couldn't risk that this time."

He was quiet as he checked to make sure her wounds were dangerous.

"Theta, we need to get them back." She whispered.

"We will." He assured her. "I promise."

She reached up and kissed him.

"Impress me, Time Lord." She told him.

"Your wish is my command." He replied, smiling. "Come on."

He took her hand and pulled her back to the tunnels. Inside, they found Idris with Auntie and Uncle.

"It's gone!" the Doctor told Idris.

"Eaten?" she asked.

"No, it left." Lily replied, sitting down next to her.

"You're hurt." Idris said, touching Lily's neck.

"I'm alright." Lily replied.

"You've cut yourself off from the Vortex." Idris said. "From me. And it's hurting you."

"I had to." Lily said softly. "I couldn't control it."

"I know." Idris replied. "What did you mean it left?"

"Not eaten, hi-jacked." The Doctor replied. "But why?"

"It's time for us both to go, and keep together." Auntie said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The Doctor shouted. "Go? What do you mean, go? Where are you going?"

"Well, we're dying, my love." She replied calmly. "It's time for Auntie and Uncle to pop off."

"I'm against it." Uncle told them.

"It's your fault, isn't it, sweets?" Auntie told them. "Cos you two told House it was the last TARDIS. House can't feed on them if there's none more coming, can he?"

"So now he's off to your universe to find more TARDISes." Uncle said.

"It won't find any." Lily told them.

"Oh, it will think of something." Auntie said.

Auntie fell over with a groan and the Doctor rushed to check for a pulse.

"Actually, I feel fine." Uncles said, standing up before falling to the ground.

Lily ran to him and checked his pulse.

"Agh!" she yelled, kicking Uncle's body. "You can't be dead! You can't just die!"

"Lily." The Doctor said, grabbing her around the middle and holding her to him, tightly. "We'll get them back. We'll figure it out."

Lily nodded, sagging against him.

"We need to go where I landed, Doctor, Phoenix." Idris said suddenly, standing up. "Quickly."

"Why?" the Doctor demanded.

"Because we are there in three minutes." She replied. "We need to go now!"

She started to run, but stopped, clutching her side in pain with a cry.

"Roughly, how long do these bodies last?" she asked weakly.

The Doctor quickly scanned with his screwdriver.

"You're dying." He said softly.

"Yes, of course I'm dying." Idris said dismissively, taking the sonic screwdriver away from the Doctor. "I don't belong in a flesh body. I could blow the casing in no time. No, stop it, don't get emotional. That's what the orangey girl says. You're the Doctor and the Phoenix. Focus."

She held out the screwdriver.

"On what?" the Doctor demanded. "I'm a madman with a box, without a box!"

He snatched the screwdriver back.

"He has a point." Lily said. "We're stuck in a pocket universe junkyard with no way out!"

"Oh." The Doctor said.

"Oh." Lily said, seeing what he was thinking.

"Oh, what?" Idris asked.

"No, we're not." The Doctor said.

"Not what?" she asked.

"Cause it's not a junkyard." Lily said. "Or, it's not just a junkyard."

"What is it then?" Idris asked.

"It's a TARDIS junkyard!" The Doctor exclaimed, heading for the exit. "Come on."

He stopped and turned back to Idris.

"Ooh, sorry, do you have a name?" he asked.

"700 years, finally he asks." Idris scoffed.

"But what do we call you?" Lily asked.

"I think you call me…Sexy." Idris replied.

Lily laughed while the Doctor looked uncomfortable.

"Only when we're alone!" he whispered.

"We are alone." Idris replied.

"But…Lily." He shot back.

"Oh please, Doctor." Lily scoffed. "Like I didn't know you call her Sexy. I'm your mate, but even I know I'll never take the TARDIS' place in your heart."

The Doctor grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Well, come on then, Phoenix, Sexy." He said.

Lily grinned and grabbed Idris's hand and followed the Doctor out of the tunnels.

A/N: Wow, this has been a long time coming. This is such a hard season to write! That being said, I think I've finally found a solution to the River/Doctor/Lily relationship. Hopefully this will make this writing this easier.

Also, because this episode is more about the Doctor and Lily and the TARDIS' relationship, I'm cutting the separate Amy and Rory scenes out.

Please review!

Abbey


	20. The Doctor's Wife: Secrets and Building

Disclaimer: I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy. You get one warning. That was it. GIVE ME DOCTOR WHO! GAH!

**A/N: Remember, only a little bit of Amy and Rory. Assume that what happened in the episode originally stays the same.**

Ch. 20:

The Doctor ran to the surface of the planet, scanning with the sonic screwdriver, as Lily and Idris followed. On top of a mound, they looked out over the thousands of crashed ships.

"The Valley of the Half-Eaten TARDISes." Lily said softly. "It's horrible."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the Doctor asked excitedly.

"I'm thinking that all of my sisters are dead." Idris replied. "That they were devoured and that we are looking at their corpses."

"Ah." The Doctor said. "Sorry. No, I wasn't thinking that."

"No." Idris agreed. "You were thinking you could build a working TARDIS console out of broken remnants of a hundred different models."

"That's insane." Lily said. "Also, impossible."

"He doesn't care it's impossible." Idris said.

"It's not impossible as long as we are alive." The Doctor told them. "Rory and Amy need us. So, yeah, we're gonna build a TARDIS."

He headed into the valley and Lily and Idris followed with a sigh.

* * *

><p>Idris came over to Lily as the Doctor ran around the broken TARDISes.<p>

"Of course I'm not mad at you." The TARDIS in human form told the Time Lady.

"You're messing up time lines again." Lily told her with a laugh.

"So I am." Idris agreed. "How do you do it, all linear?"

"We're used to it." Lily replied with a shrug. "What future question of mine were you answering?"

"Did I stop talking to you because I was mad." Idris told her.

"Oh." Lily murmured. "Then why did you?"

"Because you didn't need me anymore." Idris replied simply. "It's hard for me to keep my consciousness in normal time as you experience it, but while you two needed me to hold you together, I did it. You can hold yourselves together now."

"I don't understand." Lily told her.

"I know, my heart." Idris replied. "When did I first stop talking?"

"After the Doctor came back for me." Lily replied after a moment. "I didn't even realize it was happening. You just drifted away."

"What happened after our idiot came back for you?" The TARDIS pressed. "What did you feel?"

"Anger." Lily replied. "I was so angry with him and I hated him for taking Amy with him and leaving me in Cardiff."

She hesitated.

"And then…" Idris prompted.

"And then…" Lily mimicked with a sigh. "He tried so hard. Everything he did was calculated to win me back. And I saw how much it hurt him to have hurt me. After we lost Rory…he took it all. The yelling and the abuse. He wanted so badly to fix it, and it made me fall in love with him all over again. I could've ripped apart the universe to find him when he left, but I thought he didn't want me. Now I know he was scared and that if he does try to leave again, I just have to follow him and bring him back, because he's wrong."

"Exactly." Idris said happily. "You both realized that you couldn't live without the other. Your bond is unique in that it was made before you fell in love. It's the only bond in history that started that way, and it made it weaker, more fragile. You needed your connection to me to bolster it, so that's what I did, until it could stand on its own. The universe needs the Doctor and the Phoenix, so I did what I had to do to keep you together. But you can stand on your own now."

"I miss you." Lily said softly.

"I'm always there." The TARDIS said, gently touching Lily's temple. "You're my heart. We can never be separated."

She moved her hand to the silver band around the Time Lady's throat.

_Which is how I know this is little more than a device to comfort the Doctor._ She said silently.

Lily closed her eyes briefly, and when they opened, they burned gold. A second later, she blinked and the gold was gone, leaving pure grey in its place.

_You can't say anything._ Lily begged. _He can't know. Yes, it doesn't block my powers completely, but it helps. And I can't bear to see that look in his eyes again._

_What look?_ Idris asked.

_Fear._ Lily replied. _He was afraid of me after I killed the Silence. It almost killed me. That's why I put this on. He has to think it will keep me in check. If he believes it, it makes me think I can do it._

_Can you do it? _The TARDIS asked.

_I have to try._ Lily replied.

Idris pulled her into a hug and Lily buried her face in the other woman's neck.

"Are you two planning on helping, or are you going to stand around gossiping?" the Doctor called.

Lily pulled away and Idris kissed her forehead.

"Lily?"

They turned and saw the Doctor walking towards them, wires trailing after him.

"We're coming, Theta." Lily told him.

_Alright?_ He asked, his mind brushing against hers with comforting warmth.

Lily smiled and responded in kind, touching his mind to reassure him.

"Well, then come on." He told her, taking her hand. "We have a TARDIS to build."

The TARDIS watched her Time Lords fondly for a moment before following after them.

* * *

><p>The Doctor, Lily, and Idris had managed to cobble together a shell and a small console, and now the two women were sifting through some parts as the Doctor dragged a large piece back.<p>

"Bond the tube directly into the Tachyon Diverter." Idris told him.

"Yes, yes, I have actually rebuilt a TARDIS before, you know." The Doctor snapped. "I know what I'm doing."

"You're like a nine-year-old trying to rebuild a motorbike in his bedroom." Idris replied, making Lily snort. "And you never read the instructions."

"I always read the instructions!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Ha!" Lily yelled.

"You're no better, Time Lady." Idris told her. "There's a sign on my front door. You, Doctor, have been walking past it for 700 years. What does it say?"

"That's not instructions!" the Doctor protested.

"There's an instruction at the bottom." Idris told him. "Both of you ignore it. What does it say?"

"Pull to open." The Doctor muttered.

"Yes, and what do you do?" she demanded.

"I push!" he shouted.

"Every single time." Idris said calmly. "700 years. Police Box doors open out the way."

The Doctor threw down the rope he was pulling and marched over to her.

"Careful, Theta." Lily called.

"I think I've earned the right to open _my_ front doors any way I want!" The Doctor fumed.

"And there it is." Lily said. "Nice job. Would you like instructions on how to remove your foot from your mouth?"

"Your front doors?!" The TARDIS repeated incredulously. "Have you any idea how childish that sounds?"

"You are not my mother!" he muttered as he turned away.

"And you are not my child!" she shot back.

The Doctor turned and stalked back to her.

"You know," he said, "since we're talking with mouths, not really an opportunity that comes along very often, I just want to say, you know, you have never been very reliable."

"And you have?" she demanded.

"Stop digging, Theta." Lily told him. "The hole's deep enough."

"You didn't always take me where I wanted to go." He said, walking away again.

"Fine, just ignore me." Lily said, annoyed. "Just trying to build a TARDIS over here, trying to save our friends. No big deal. You two just keep arguing."

"I may not have always taken you where you wanted to go, but I always took you were you needed to go." Idris told him, stopping him in his tracks.

"You did!" he agreed, whirling around with a smile. "Look at us. Talking. You never used to, not really. Then Lily came and you were such a part of us. I-We miss this."

"I know." Idris said, smiling sadly. "But you know I'm not constructed that way. Like I told my heart, I exist across all space and time. You two talk and run around and bring home strays. It's too hard for me to exist in your time stream."

Idris stumbled and both Time Lords ran to catch her.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked.

"One of the kidneys has already failed." She replied. "It doesn't matter. We need to finish assembling the console."

"We're going to be using that console without a proper shell." Lily pointed out. "It's not going to be even remotely safe."

"This body has about 18 minutes to live." Idris told her. "The universe we're in will reach Absolute Zero in three hours. Safe is relative."

The Doctor transferred Idris to Lily, who slipped under the other woman's arm to help her, before heading back to the piece he had been dragging.

"Then we need to get a move on, eh, old girl?" he said, picking the rope back up.

He started to drag it again and the women went back to looking for parts.

* * *

><p>The makeshift TARDIS now had three walls and the Doctor was carrying the central column over his shoulder to the console.<p>

"You'll need to install the time router." Idris called.

"How is this going to even make it through the rift?" Lily asked incredulously. "It looks like it'd fall apart if you looked at it wrong!"

"We're almost there." The Doctor said, slipping the column into place and checking on the console. "Thrust diffuser. Er…Retro scope. Blue…thingy."

"You inspire so much confidence, my love." Lily told him, shaking her head.

"Do you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago?" Idris asked him.

"I chose you." He replied. "You were unlocked."

"Of course I was." She said dismissively. "I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away. And you were the only one mad enough."

The Doctor took Lily's hand and pulled her so they were standing with Idris, looking at the disaster of a TARDIS console.

"Right." He said. "Perfect."

"I don't think that word means what you think it means." Lily told him.

"Look at that!" he said, motioning to the console. "What could possibly go wrong?"

A small piece fell off and hit the ground.

"That's fine, that always happens." He said quickly.

"Like I said: Falls apart when you look at it wrong." Lily said.

The Doctor just glared at her.

"No!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Hang on! Wait!"

He ran and grabbed two red velvet ropes. He handed one to Lily and they all headed into the small shell. They attached the ropes to the console and the Doctor took a deep breath.

"Right." He said. "Okay, let's go. Follow that TARDIS!"

Nothing moved.

Meanwhile, Idris spotted her face in a mirror and became fascinated with it, moving it and playing with it.

"It can't hold a charge." The Doctor moaned. "I can't even start it. There's no power!"

Lily reached over and covered the mirror.

"Then we've got nothing." She said sadly. "We can't save Amy and Rory if we can't even get to them!"

"Oh, my beautiful idiot and my lovely heart." Idris told them. "You have what you've always had – you've got me."

She kissed her fingers and they glowed gold. She gently placed them on the central column and the energy transferred, encasing them in a golden field as they began to dematerialize.

* * *

><p>The TARDIS was open on top and on the side, the energy field the only thing protecting, such as it was, from the open space. The ride was rough, which meant that the Doctor was thoroughly enjoying himself.<p>

"Whoo-hoo!"

Lily glared at him.

"We've locked on to them!" Idris called. "They'll have to lower the shields when I'm close enough to phase inside."

"Can you get a message to Amy?" the Doctor called back. "The telepathic circuits are online."

"Which one's Amy?" Idris asked. "The pretty one?"

"He sure thinks so." Lily teased.

"Oi!" The Doctor protested.

Lily just laughed. The Time Lords felt the TARDIS reach out and suddenly, she was connected.

* * *

><p>Amy and Rory had been running for their lives from House. They were climbing a ladder when Rory grabbed his head in pain, seeing Idris in his mind.<p>

"Rory, what's wrong?" Amy called.

"It's like…I'm getting a message." He replied.

"Hello, Pretty!" Idris called.

"What the hell is that?" Rory demanded.

"Don't worry." Lily said, butting into the vision. "She's contacting you via telepathic messaging. Huh, the Pretty One is Rory. Nice!"

She disappeared and Idris was back.

"You have to go to the old control room." Idris told him. "I'm putting the route in your head. When you get there use the purple slider on the nearest panel to lower the shields."

"The Pretty One!" the Doctor exclaimed, butting in, but Idris pushed him back out.

"You'll have about 12 seconds before the room goes into phase with the invading Matrix." She continued. "I'll send you the passkey when you get there. Good luck!"

"What was that?" Amy asked.

"It was that woman." Rory replied. "That mad woman and the Phoenix and the Doctor."

"The Phoenix and the Doctor?!" Amy replied.

"We have to keep going." Rory said.

They continued climbing.

* * *

><p>"How's Rory going to be able to take down the shields?" Lily yelled. "The House is in the control room!"<p>

"I directed him to one of the old control rooms." Idris yelled back.

"There aren't any old control rooms!" the Doctor said. "They were all deleted or remodeled."

"I archive them." She replied. "For neatness. I've got about 30 now."

"But I've only changed the desktop, what, a dozen times?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"So far, yes." Idris agreed.

"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet!" he protested.

"YOU can't." she replied.

"I love it!" Lily exclaimed. "Archiving things before they happen."

"All of time and space, and that's what's impressed you?" The Doctor demanded, shaking his head.

"But…" Lily replied. "Future archiving!"

"You are a very odd woman." He told her.

"And you are an exceedingly odd man." She shot back. "Good thing we hooked up."

She kissed his cheek before moving around him to the other side of the console and flipping a switch. The ride got rougher, and they held on for dear life.

"Keep going!" the Doctor shouted. "You're doing it, you sexy thing!"

"See, you DO call me that." Idris said. "Is it my name?"

"It is definitely your name." Lily confirmed with a laugh.

"Whoo!" the Doctor shouted.

A/N: So what do you think? Look, I got two chapters out in a relatively short amount of time. You should be impressed.

Show me how much you're impressed by reviewing!

Abbey


	21. The Doctor's Wife: Hello and Alive

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, I would sit Matt Smith down, explain that I only recently really came to love him, and his contract says he can't leave. And when he asks to see said contract, I will calmly explain that it was lost, but I'm sure that that's what it says.

Ch. 21:

Amy and Rory arrived at the door Idris has led them to, with Nephew hot on their trail.

"So where is this place?" Amy asked.

"This is where she told me to go." Rory replied. "She said she'd send me the pass key!"

He grabbed his head as Idris sent him another message, repeating the words for Amy as he received them.

"Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor."

"Petrichor." Amy repeated thoughtfully.

"What do I do?" Rory asked. "Do I say it? Crimson, Eleven, Delight, Petrichor."

Nothing happened.

"I said it." He said.

"Petrichor." Amy repeated. "Petrichor…"

"I said it!" Rory yelled, frustrated, as he pounded on the door.

"Petrichor." Amy said. "She told you what it meant – the smell of wet dust, remember? So…Oh…it's the meaning, not the word."

"The meaning of what?" her husband demanded.

"The TARDIS interface is telepathic." Amy explained. "You don't say it, you think it."

Nephew appeared at the junction.

"It's coming." Rory told her.

"Quiet." Amy ordered, turning to face the door and closing her eyes. "Crimson. Eleven. Delight. The smell of dust after rain."

Nephew slowly advanced and Amy pictured examples of each word in her head.

"Crimson."

A red flag in the wind.

"Eleven."

An eleventh birthday cake, with number candles.

"Delight."

Her and her husband at their wedding.

"The smell of dust after rain."

A rain drop, falling on dirt.

Amy repeated the words and thoughts as Nephew got closer. Suddenly, the doors slid open and they rushed inside, running up the ramp into a dark room.

"What is this place?" Amy asked, looking around the room, which had a coral feel to it. "Another control room?"

"Shields." Rory said, focusing on the console.

They both ran to it, looking for the right control.

"Got it." Rory said.

* * *

><p>"They did it." Idris exclaimed. "Shields down!"<p>

The makeshift TARDIS closed in on the other.

* * *

><p>"<em>How did you find this place?<em>" House demanded. "_It's not on my internal schematics. I had hoped you two could join Nephew as my servants. But you two are nothing but trouble._"

The door opened and Nephew entered.

"_Nephew…_" he ordered. "_Kill._"

Amy and Rory backed away and Idris sent through another message.

"We're coming through." She told him. "Get out of the way or you'll be atomized."

"Where are you coming through?" Rory asked.

"I don't know." She replied.

"Oh, great." He sneered. "Thanks!"

* * *

><p>"It's not going to hold!" Idris shouted.<p>

* * *

><p>Nephew advanced as the wind picked up and everything shook.<p>

"Hold on!" Rory shouted.

He held onto the rail while Amy grabbed the nearest buttress and another console materialized right where Nephew had been.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, smiling.

He and Lily quickly ran to the other couple, hugging them both. Idris stood much slower.

"Not good." She said. "Not good at all."

The Doctor and Phoenix both went back to her and the Doctor helped her to sit as the Phoenix kneeled in front of her, worry etched on her face.

"How do you walk around in these things?" Idris asked.

"We're not there yet." Lily told her, squeezing her hand. "Just hold on."

"Amy, this is…well, she's our TARDIS." The Doctor told the others. "Except she's a woman. She's a woman, and she's my TARDIS."

"She's the TARDIS?!" Amy exclaimed.

"And she's a woman." The Doctor replied. "She's a woman and she's the TARDIS."

"Did you wish really hard?" Amy asked.

"Shut up!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Not like that."

"Hello." Idris said. "I'm…Sexy."

"Oh!" Rory laughed.

Lily snickered.

"Still shut up." The Doctor shot back.

"_The Environment has been breached._" House said. "_Nephew, kill them all._"

They looked around for the Ood.

"Where's Nephew?" Rory asked.

"He was standing right were you materialized." Amy replied.

"Oops." Lily said. "Redistributed Ood."

"Meaning what?" Rory asked.

"Uh…" Lily hesitated. "Don't breathe too deeply."

"Eugh!" Amy exclaimed.

"Another Ood I failed to save." The Doctor said sadly.

Lily reached up and grasped his hand, squeezing it gently.

"_Doctor, Phoenix, I did not expect you._" House said.

"Well, that's us all over, isn't it?" the Doctor said. "Lovely old unexpected us."

"I am not old." Lily growled.

_Sorry, love._ He told her.

Lily just glared at him.

"_The big question is, now you're here, how to dispose of you?_" House asked. "_I could play with gravity…_"

They all fell down, fighting the pull until House released. They got to their feet, but Idris collapsed again. Rory and Lily both went to her.

"_Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke._" House said, doing just that.

"You really don't want to do that!" the Doctor shouted.

The air returned.

"_Why shouldn't I just kill you now?_" House asked.

"Because then I won't be able to help you!" the Doctor told him. "Listen to your engines. Just listen to them. You don't have the thrust and you know it. I'm your only hope for getting out of your little bubble, through the rift, and into my universe. And mine's the one with the food in! You just have to promise not to kill us. That's all, just promise."

Idris whispered something to Rory, as Lily got up and went to her mate, slipping her hand into his.

"You can't be serious." Amy said.

"I'm very serious." The Doctor replied.

"I'm sure it's an entity of its word." Lily sneered.

"Doctor, Lily, she's burning up." Rory called. "She's asking for water."

The Doctor went over and kneeled next to her, taking her hand. Lily came up and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." He whispered. "Hang in there, old girl. Not long now. It's be over soon."

"I always liked it when you call me…old girl." Idris whispered.

"_You want me to give my word?_" House asked. "_Easy. I promise._"

"Fine." The Doctor agreed. "Okay. I trust you. Just delete, ooh, 30% of the TARDIS rooms, you'll free up thrust enough to make it through. Activate sub-routine Sigma-9."

"_Why would you tell me this?_" House asked.

"Because we want to get back to our universe as badly as you do." The Doctor said, standing up, linking his fingers with Lily's again. "And I'm nice."

"_Yes._" House said slowly. "_I can delete rooms, and I can also rid myself of vermin if I delete this room first. Thank you, Doctor, very helpful. Goodbye, Time Lords. Goodbye, little humans. Goodbye, Idris._"

There was a flash of bright light and the TARDIS returned to the universe.

And the five corporeal passengers of the TARDIS materialized in the console room.

"Yes." The Doctor said smugly. "I mean, you could do that, but it just won't work. Hardwired fail-safe. Living things from rooms that are deleted are automatically deposited in the main control room."

"Thanks for the lift, though." Lily said, smirking.

"_We are in your Universe now, Doctor._" House said. "_Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords_."

"Fear _me_." The Doctor replied. "I've killed all of them."

"I don't understand." Rory said softly to Idris. "There isn't a forest in here."

Lily went to her and gently stroked her hair, kneeling and gently lifting Idris' head to rest in her lap.

"Yeah, you're right." The Doctor said. "You've completely won. Oh, you can kill us in oodles of really inventive ways, but before you do kill us allow me, my mate, and our friends, Amy and Rory, to congratulate you on being an absolutely worthy opponent."

He started to clap, only stopping to grab Amy and force her to stand and applaud.

"Congratulations!" Amy said, confused.

"Yep, you've defeated us, me and my lovely friends here at last but definitely not least the TARDIS Matrix herself." The Doctor said. "A living consciousness you ripped out of this very control room and locked up into a human body and look at her!"

"Theta, she's not breathing." Lily said, softly.

"_Enough!_" House shouted. "_That is enough._"

Amy went over to the other two.

"No." The Doctor said, seething. "You forced the TARDIS into a body so she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room. A flesh body can't hold the TARDIS Matrix and live. Look at her body, House."

"_And you think I should mourn her?_" House asked, incredulous.

"That's not what he's saying." Lily said, gently resting Idris on the ground and standing up. "He's saying that you should've have been much, much more careful about who or what you let back into this control room, because you, my friend, just made a huge tactical error."

Energy flowed out of Idris as her mouth opened.

"You ripped her out of her home." Lily snarled.

"But now she's back in the box again and she's free!" the Doctor finished triumphantly.

The energy streamed through the room, attacking the green light.

"_No!"_ House shouted. "_Doctor, stop this! Ow! Stop this now!"_

"Oh, look at my girl, look at her go!" the Doctor crowed. "Bigger on the inside! You see, House?"

"_Make it stop!_" House shouted.

"That's your problem." The Doctor shouted gleefully. "Size of a planet, but inside you're just. so. SMALL!"

"_Make it stop!_" House shouted.

"Finish him off!" Lily shouted. "Make the bastard pay!"

House groaned and yelled as the TARDIS took her home back.

Then it was silent and Idris' body was gone.

"Doctor? Phoenix? Are you there?"

The two Time Lords turned from the console and saw a glowing projection of Idris.

"It's so very dark in here." She said.

"We're here." The Doctor said softly.

"I've been looking for a word." She told them. "A big, complicated word, but so sad. I've found it now."

"What word?" Lily asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Alive." The TARDIS replied. "I'm alive!"

"Alive isn't sad." The Doctor told her.

Rory pulled Amy close as they watched.

"It's sad when it's over." Idris said. "I'll always be here. But this is when we talked and now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you."

"Goodbye?" the Doctor asked.

"No, I just wanted to say…hello." She said, smiling brightly. "Hello, Doctor, Phoenix. It's so very, very nice to meet you."

"Please!" Lily cried. "We don't want you to go. Please, there has to be a way!"

The Doctor and the Phoenix stepped back as the projection dissipated with a bright light and the familiar TARDIS sound.

"Oh, my loves." Came Idris' voice faintly. "I love you, both. So much."

Lily sobbed and the Doctor pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms and holding her tightly as he buried her face in her hair.

Amy and Rory could do nothing but stand silently by as the Time Lords grieved.

* * *

><p>The Doctor sat in the swing under the console a little while later, while Lily leaned against the stairs, watching him fondly, and Amy and Rory looked down from above.<p>

"How's it going under there?" Rory asked.

"Just putting a firewall around the Matrix." The Doctor replied. "Almost done."

"Are you going to make her talk again?" Amy asked as Rory came down the stairs and stood next to Lily.

He reached over and gently squeezed the Time Lady's hand. She looked at him and smiled softly.

"We can't." she answered. "She can't even talk to us in our minds now."

"Why not?" Rory asked.

"Spacey-wacey, isn't it?" Amy said.

"Oh, jeez." Lily complained. "Now you've got her saying those ridiculous words too!"

"Well, actually," The Doctor said, after sticking his tongue out at his mate, "it's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an eleventh-dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical then…

Rory, who had wandered towards the Doctor while he raved on, touched two wires together and created a large spark.

"Yes!" the Doctor exclaimed, glaring at the other man. "It's spacey-wacey!"

"Sorry." Rory said, wincing as Lily laughed. "At the end, she was talking. She kept repeating something. I don't know what it meant."

"What did she say?" The Doctor asked, standing up.

"The only water in the forest is the river." Rory told him. "She said we'd need to know that someday. It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"She had a hard time with time streams." Lily said with a fond smile. "I'm sure it will make sense one day."

She held her hand and he took it, allowing her to pull him to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"No." he replied as his wife made her way down. "I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, I know, but it still does. I'm a nurse."

Amy joined them, sitting on the bottom step and wrapping her hands around the rail and resting her chin on them.

"Letting it get to you?" Lily repeated. "That's why I need you. The Doctor needs someone who sees it, like the lovely Amelia does. She sees the wonder, and he gets to see it through her. But you? You're my companion. Even if you two weren't married, I would have brought you along, because I need someone who lets it get to them. I need you to show me that it should get to me too. You keep me sane, Rory Williams."

"Besides, letting it get to you – you know what that's called?" the Doctor asked him. "Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now, that's all that counts."

Lily squeezed his hand before letting him go and the Doctor sat back down as Rory moved over to Amy.

"Nearly finished." He told them. "Two more minutes, then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful, if you like restful. I can never really get the hang of restful."

"I don't know." Lily said, coming over to him and resting her hand on the parts of the TARDIS. "What do you think, love? What shall we take the kiddies to see?"

"Look at the three of you." Amy said. "It's always the three of you, isn't it? Long after the rest of us have gone. A boy, a girl, and their box, off to see the universe."

"Well, you say that as if it's a bad thing." The Doctor whined as Lily laughed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder. "But honestly, it's the best thing there is."

There was a large shower of sparks.

"Uh, the House deleted all the bedrooms." The Doctor said. "I should make you two a new bedroom. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Rory leaned over and whispered something in Amy's ear.

"Okay." She agreed. "Doctor, this time, could we lose the bunk beds?"

"What?" Lily said, standing up and spinning the Doctor so he was facing her. "You gave them bunk beds?!"

"But bunk beds are cool!" he protested. "A bed with a ladder! You can't beat that!"

"Would you like it if I exchanged our bed for bunk beds?" she demanded.

"Can we?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.

Lily stared at him in wonder.

"I'm mated to a child." She muttered. "An ancient child."

"Oh, alright." He said, pouting and turning back to the other couple. "Fine. It's YOUR room. Up those stairs, keep walking till you find it. Off you pop!"

Amy grabbed Rory's hand and pulled him away, while Lily moved to stand in front of her mate and wrap her arms around his neck.

"Are you sure we can't have bunk beds?" he whined.

"Well," Lily said, tilting her head to the side. "There are some things I think you might miss if we had bunk beds."

She sent him an image and he gulped.

"I see your point." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him.

"I thought you might." She replied, grinning.

She bent down and kissed him. They stayed like that for several minutes before pulling apart, both breathing heavily.

"You're right." He told her. "Bunk beds would not be cool."

Lily laughed and pulled away.

"Fix our lovely ship, Time Lord." She told him. "Show me the universe."

"Yes, ma'am." He agreed.

She laughed again and headed up the stairs as he got back to work.

* * *

><p>A little while later, the Doctor joined Lily at the console as she soniced something. He moved around the console, but stopped.<p>

"Are you there?" he asked softly. "Can you hear me?"

He glanced up at Lily, who was watching him, and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm a silly old…" he trailed off with a shrug and stood up straighter. "Okay. The Eye of Orion, or wherever we need to go."

Between the two Time Lords, a lever moved on its own, starting the dematerialization. The Doctor and the Phoenix looked at each other in surprise before laughing.

"Hello!" the Doctor called, grabbing Lily and spinning her around. "Whoo-hoo!"

_**A boy, a girl, and their box. Off to see the universe.**_

A/N: What do you think? I'm actually pretty proud of this, even though it got off to a rocky start!

Now, on to a serious matter:

No reviews?! This saddens me. I so look forward to hearing from some of you! I need you to rectify this!

Review, please! I'm not above begging. And you do not want to see that!

Abbey


	22. Interlude and Decisions

Disclaimer: I literally think I said everything remotely clever about 100 chapters ago. Suficed to say, I don't own Doctor Who.

Ch. 22:

They had gone to The Eye of Orion and had enjoyed themselves thoroughly. They had returned to the TARDIS soaking wet and laughing. Amy and Rory said goodnight to the Time Lord and Lady and headed to their room.

"We need to get dried off." Lily said, still laughing slightly.

The Doctor replied by pulling her to him and kissing her deeply.

"Distracting me will not keep me from remembering that I am freezing." She told him.

"Hmm." The Doctor said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I bet I could warm you."

"What's gotten into you, hmm?" she asked, her arms snaking around his neck.

"Why does something have to have gotten into me to want to pay attention to my fiancé?" he asked innocently.

"Besides the fact that you're never this affectionate?" Lily shot back.

The Doctor pouted and Lily chuckled. She took his hand and pulled him out of the control room and down the corridors towards their room. She was actually very proud of him, only getting distracted twice and pushing her up against the wall to kiss her.

But when the door shut and they were alone, he simply pulled her to him and held her tightly, burying his face in her damp hair.

_Is everything okay, Theta? _She asked.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers.

_Having our TARDIS in a body for such a short time just made me…_

He trailed off and Lily smiled softly.

_Realize that even though we're Time Lords, that doesn't mean we have forever?_ She finished.

_I want to marry you._ He told her. _I'm tired of waiting._

Lily reached up and kissed him fiercely.

_Not yet._ She told him. _I want to marry you too, but something is telling me it's not time yet. Something is waiting for us. I know you feel it too. Those summons, River, Amy…something is drawing us in, and until we know what is going on, I think we should wait._

_Are you sure?_ He asked.

_When we get married, I want there to be no mysteries._ She told him. _Nothing but us, with our family, declaring to the universe that we are one, and they should think twice before taking us on._

_No mysteries?_ He asked skeptically. _Us?_

_Okay, less mysteries._ She relented.

He chuckled and she glared at him.

_Oh, so that's how it is._ She told him. _Laughing at me, are we?_

_And if I am? _He shot back. _What are you going to do about it?_

_Hmm…_ she murmured.

She pushed him backwards until his legs hit the side of their bed and he fell onto it, allowing her to climb up so she was straddling him.

_I guess I'll just have to punish you._ She said, grinning wickedly.

The Doctor just matched her grin.

* * *

><p>A little while later, the Doctor held Lily as she curled into his side, her hair fanned out over his bare chest as they lay in bed.<p>

_You know what we have to do. _ He said softly.

Lily sighed and nodded.

_She'll be pretty far along now._ He continued. _We need to see it at the beginning._

_Will we take them somewhere first? _Lily asked. _We could drop them off with Jack. Torchwood could keep them safe._

_That may not be a bad idea._ The Doctor agreed.

Lily was silent for a while.

_Where is she, Theta? _ She asked finally. _Where did they take her?_

_I don't know. _He admitted. _But we'll find her. We won't rest until we find her._

_He's going to be heartbroken and so angry with us. _Lily said.

_That can't be helped. _ The Doctor said. _They both need to be kept in the dark until we're ready._

_Are we ready? _ Lily asked, sitting up to look at him.

He gently pushed her hair over her shoulder before cupping her cheek and pulling her down to kiss her.

_We have to be._ He replied.

Lily nodded and laid back down, snuggling into her mate, willing time to stop for just a little bit longer.

A/N: Supper short, I know, but I wanted this before the Rebel Flesh and I didn't want it to be part of the episode.

Plus I'm in a fluffy mood and I just wanted Doctor/Phoenix fluff. So sue me.

Let me know what you thought.

Abbey

P.S.

Anyone who would like to discuss the 50th, PM me! I'm desperate to talk to people about it and my sister won't cooperate!


	23. The Rebel Flesh: Beginnings

Disclaimer: Still no new ideas for disclaimers. I don't own Doctor Who.

Ch. 23:

As far as the human inhabitants of the TARDIS were concerned, they were having one of Lily's free days. The control room was messy as they all pursued their own interests, entertaining themselves as they always did when she demanded the Doctor let them rest.

This time, Lily was lying under the console, singing along to 'Supermassive Black Hole' as she fixed something. The Doctor stood above her, looking at the screen.

Meanwhile, Rory was throwing darts at a dart board.

"46." Amy told her husband after his last throw came in under the wire. "Rubbishy rubbishy rubbish."

"Hello, it's a double top." Rory shot back.

"Wrong side of the wire, mister." She told him.

"You're on the oche, Red." He said.

"No, I'm not." She said, laughing. "Stop trying to put me off."

She lined up to take her shot, neither one noticing the Doctor watching her. Lily pulled herself out from under the console and came to stand next to him. On the monitor was Amy's pregnancy scan, still oscillating between positive and negative.

_We can't wait anymore._ Lily told him silently. _She'll be going into labor any time now._

The Doctor's gaze locked on hers and he nodded once. She returned the nod and reached over to turn off the music.

"Who wants fish n' chips?" The Doctor called.

Rory raised his hand.

"We'll drop you both off in Cardiff, how 'bout that?" Lily told them. "Take your time. You guys can go gossip with former Team TARDIS members."

"Uh, and you?" Rory asked.

"We have things to do." The Doctor replied, moving around the console. "Things involving…other things."

_I think we just identified why you'll never be able to hide anything from me._ Lily said with a sigh. _It has nothing to do with our bond. You're just a really terrible liar. _

_That should be a comfort to you._ He told her.

_Yeah, not at this moment._ She shot back.

"Well, we'll stay with you." Amy said suspiciously. "We'll do the other things."

She and Rory joined the Time Lords at the console.

"It's not necessary." Lily told her breezily. "Just some stuff we have to take care of. Boring really."

"Just how stupid do you think we look? Don't answer that." He said as Lily opened her mouth.

"Whatever you're up to, I, personally, would like to be a part of it." Amy said.

The Doctor just stared at her.

"What?" she demanded, scoffing.

They were all thrown down as a klaxon went off and the TARDIS bucked. Rory grabbed the rails and Amy clung to the console as the Doctor and Phoenix tried to stabilize their ship.

"Solar Tsunami." The Doctor reported. "Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big!"

"Oh, Doctor, my tummy's going funny." Rory moaned.

"Well, the gyros are dissipated." The Doctor replied. "Target-tracking is out."

Lily pushed on a lever, putting all her strength into it, but it did nothing to help.

"Assume the position!" the Doctor yelled.

He grabbed Lily and pulled her underneath him, shielding both her and his head as best he could. Amy threw herself into the jumpseat, covering her head with her hands, while Rory did the same, kneeling on the floor.

Suddenly it stopped and Amy and Rory looked up to see the Doctor already standing, helping Lily to her feet.

"Textbook landing." He said brightly.

"Find me that textbook, Theta." Lily told him as he headed to the door. "I want to burn it and its writers."

She shook her head and followed him outside. They found themselves on a small island, in front of a large medieval monastery with a weathervane on top its highest point.

"Behold!" the Doctor said happily. "A cockerel. Love a cockerel. And, underneath, a monastery, 13th-century."

"Oh, we've gone all medieval." Amy said.

"I'm not sure about that." Rory said.

"Really?" Amy asked skeptically. "Medieval expert, are you?"

"No, he's right." Lily said. "Unless the monks of the 13th century were listening to a lot of Dusty Springfield."

"Well, there was that one group that were driven to a crusade after someone played Madonna's 'Like a Virgin' because they thought it would be funny." The Doctor said innocently.

"How was I to know they'd be that offended by an artist named Madonna singing those lyrics?" Lily demanded crossly. "It's not my fault they didn't have a sense of humor. And I managed to talk them down, didn't I?"

"You had to use your powers to convince them you were an Angel of the Lord sent to test them!" the Doctor exclaimed. "And then you called yourself Castiel!"

"I did, didn't I?" Lily said, chuckling. "Supernatural fanboys 800 years before their time. Bless them."

He just shook his head and headed off, the others following after him. Lily moved a little quicker, catching up with him so she could wrap her arm around his.

_I wish we could've dropped them off._ He said silently.

_Me too._ Lily agreed. _We'll just have to keep a close eye on Amy. First sign of labor pains and we get her back to the TARDIS._

He nodded slightly as they came across a hole with an exposed pipe that read: _Danger – corrosive._

"These fissures are new." The Doctor said, kneeling down. "The Solar Tsunami sent out a huge wave of gamma particles. This was caused by a magnetic quake that occurred just before the wave hit."

"Well, the monastery's standing." Amy said.

"For now." Lily said, looking up at the structure as her mate took out a small snow globe and shook it. "I'm not sure if it can take another hit."

The Doctor studied the snow globe for a moment before putting it away.

"Doctor, Lily, look." Rory said, pointing at the writing on the side of the pipe.

"Ah, it's a supply pipe." The Doctor said, scanning it with the sonic screwdriver. "Ceramic inner lining. Something corrosive."

"Really?" Lily asked sarcastically. "Whatever gave you that idea? Could it have been the words 'Danger, Corrosive'?"

"Oh, hush." He told her. "They're pumping something nasty off this island, to the mainland."

He turned and wandered off slightly.

"My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield." Rory said.

"Who isn't?" the Doctor asked, turning back around. "Right, let's go. Satisfy our rabid curiosity."

He grabbed Lily's hand and they headed towards the stairs, Amy and Rory following.

"So, where are they Dusty Springfield – loving monks, then?" Amy asked as they headed through the crumbling structure.

"I think we're here." The Doctor muttered, scanning the area. "This is it."

"Of course it is." Lily replied with a sigh.

"What are you two talking about?" Rory asked. "We've never been here before."

"We came here by accident." Amy added as they headed up another set of stairs.

"Accident?" The Doctor repeated, rounding on them.

_Theta._ Lily warned.

"Yes, I know." He replied to the humans aloud. "Accident."

Rory reached out and touched one of the pipes running alongside the stairs, but quickly pulled it back, exclaiming in pain.

"Acid." Lily told him. "That's what they're pumping off this island."

"That's the old stuff." The Doctor said. "Fresh acid? You wouldn't have a finger."

He and Lily continued inside as Amy went to her husband. She looked at his hand and kissed it as an alarm went off inside.

"Intruder alert. Intruder alert."

The Doctor and Lily quickly came back.

"There are people coming." He said. "Well, almost."

"Almost coming?" Amy asked.

"Almost people." Lily replied distractedly.

She and the Doctor headed off again and Amy followed.

"I think we should really be going." Rory said, pointing back to the TARDIS.

"Come on!" Amy called.

"I'm telling you, when something runs towards you, it's never for a nice reason!" Rory called after his wife, reluctantly following.

A/N: And that's the beginning of the Reble Flesh! Wow, I'm really on a role! I'd forgotten how much fun writing this could be!

Let me know what you think! I so look forward to your thoughts and questions!

Abbey

PS: Sorry it's short again!


	24. The Rebel Flesh: Storm's Coming

Disclaimer: So here's the deal, I will stop claiming I own Doctor Who, if they will just admit that the Doctor is real and convince him that I should be his next companion. That is all.

Ch. 24:

The four travelers ran into a room to find people strapped into harnesses, all of them in orange jumpsuits. The Doctor ran from harness to harness, checking on the occupants, as Lily looked at the technology, and Amy and Rory followed after them.

"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked.

"Uh, the almost people?" Rory suggested.

"What are they, prisoners?" Amy pushed. "Or are they meditating, or what?"

"Or what." Lily replied. "Or what is actually an accurate description at the moment."

"Halt and remain calm!" a computerized voice told them.

"Well, we've halted." The Doctor said, coming to stand in the middle of the room. "How are we all doing on the 'calm' front?"

Lily reached over and smacked him upside the head.

Two men and a woman ran into the room, the men holding lances.

"Don't move!" one of the men ordered.

"Stay back, Jen." The other man told the woman. "We don'tknow who they are."

"So let's ask them." She replied. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well, I'm the Doctor, this is the Phoenix, and this is Amy and Rory and it's all very nice, isn't it?" the Time Lord told her.

"Hold up." Amy said, looking at the harnesses and then back to the people. "You're all – what are you all, like, identical twins?"

Another man and an older woman entered the room, dressed in protective suits.

"This is an Alpha-grade industrial facility." The woman told them. "Unless you work for the military or for Morpeht Jetson, you are in big trouble."

"Actually, you're in big trouble." The Doctor replied, pulling out the psychic paper.

"Meteorological department?" she read skeptically. "Since when?"

"Since a solar wave slammed into this place." Lily replied, moving to stand next to her mate.

"Which we survived." The woman said.

"Before we go any further, can we put names to faces?" Lily asked, looking around. "For our report."

The woman looked at her suspiciously, but nodded.

"I'm Cleeves, leader of the team." She replied. "That's Dicken." She pointed to the man who came with her. "The others are Jimmy," younger man, "Buzzer," older man, "and Jennifer."

The other woman waved slightly.

"Thank you." Lily said. "Now about that solar wave…"

"I told you, we're fine." Cleeves told her, exasperated.

"Just, by the look of it." The Doctor replied. "And there's a bigger one on the way."

"Which we'll also survive." She told him. "Dicken, scan for bugs."

The man with her held up a scanner.

"Backs against the wall." He ordered. "Now."

The four friends backed up to the wall.

"You're not a monastery." The Doctor observed. "You're a factory. 22nd-century, army-owned factory."

"Oh, I so love the military." Lily muttered.

"Torchwood." The Doctor shot back.

"Not military." She replied archly. "Specialists."

"Whatever helps you sleep."

"You help me sleep." She teased.

The Doctor smirked.

"All those long winded lectures." She continued. "Sure to put a girl to sleep."

He glared at her.

"Really?" Rory said, interrupting them.

Lily just shrugged and grinned.

"You're army?" Amy asked, choosing to ignore the Time Lords.

"No, love, we're contractors and you're trespassers." The older woman told her.

"It's okay, boss." Dicken called.

"All right, weatherman, your I.D. checks out." Cleeves said. "If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it, hand out sunblock?"

"Ha ha ha ha." The Doctor replied sarcastically. "I need to see your critical systems."

"Which one?" she asked.

"You know which one." Lily told her.

* * *

><p>They were led into a room with a raised platform and a vat sitting on top. In front of it was a open tub, connected to the vat by a pipe.<p>

"And there you are." The Doctor said softly.

"Meet the government's worst-kept secret – the flesh." Cleeves told them. "It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level."

"Right." Amy replied. "Brilliant. Lost."

"Okay." The woman said. "Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything. Replicate a living organism, down to the hairs on its chinny-chin-chin. Even clothes, and everything's identical – eyes, voice."

"Mind, soul." The Doctor added.

"Don't be fooled, Doctor." Cleeves told him. "It acts like life, but it still needs to be controlled by us from those harnesses you saw."

"Wait, whoa, hold it." Rory sputtered. "So…you're flesh now?"

"I'm lying in a hrness back in that chamber." Cleeves confirmed. "We all are, except Jennifer here. Don't be scared. This thing? Just like a forklift truck."

"Except forklifts don't grow themselves." Lily said, lazily running her hand along the edge of the pool as she walked around it. "And you said this stuff was learning, something forklifts don't do either. Only living things can grow and learn."

"Moss grows." Cleeves replied. "It's no more than that. This acid is so dangerous, we were losing a worker every week. So now, we mine the acid, using these doppelgangers, or 'gangers'. If these bodies get burnt or fall in the acid…"

"Then who the hell cares?" Buzzer snarked. "Right, Jen?"

"Well, the nerve endings automatically cut off, like airbags being discharged, except we wake up and get a new ganger." Jennifer explained.

"It's weird." Jimmy said. "But you get used to it."

"Jennifer, I want you in your ganger." Cleeves ordered. "Get back to the harness."

The Doctor came up next to Lily and held out his screwdriver to scan the flesh.

"Hang on." Buzzer said. "What's he up to? What are you up to, pal?"

The Doctor tried to pull away, but the flesh didn't seem to want to let him go. He felt it scanning him and he quickly but up a block between Lily and him, to keep the flesh from following the bond to her, if it was capable of that.

"Stop it." The Doctor said, as he struggled.

Finally, he managed to pull his hand away.

"Strange." The Doctor said. "It was like, for a moment there, it was scanning me."

He put his screwdriver away and reached out to touch the flesh with his palm.

"Doctor." Cleeves warned.

The Doctor cried out as his hand began to shake. Lily grabbed him and tried to pull him away, but he couldn't move.

"Get back, Doctor." Cleeves ordered. "Leave it alone!"

The Doctor yelled and Lily turned away slightly so he wouldn't see as her eyes flashed gold. A second later, the flesh let him go.

"I understand." He said, reopening the bond between him and Lily.

_Are you alright?_ Lily asked quickly.

He pulled her to him and held her tightly.

_Fine. _He replied, pulling away to gently brushing the hair out of her face. _Sorry for the quick shut down. I couldn't risk it scanning you._

_I understand._ She agreed, smiling slightly.

The Doctor looked at her closely.

_It was strange though…_He murmured. _How it let me go…_

_Maybe it got all it needed._ She suggested.

He looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging.

_Probably._ He agreed.

"Doctor, are you all right?" Amy asked.

"Incredible." He said, pulling away from Lily and looking at the others. "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it and it to me."

"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor." Cleeves told him.

"How can you be so blinkered?" the Doctor demanded. "It's alive, so alive. You're piling your lives, your personalities, directly into it."

Lightning crashed and the Doctor took out his snowglobe again as the ground shook.

"It's the solar storm." Lily said, looking out the window. "The pre-shock. The full shock's coming. It's close."

"Buzz, have we got anything from the mainland yet?" Cleeves asked.

"No, the comms are stll too jammed with radiation." He replied.

"Okay, then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop." She declared. "Now, why don't you stand back and let us impress you."

The time travelers watched as the tub bellow the vat began to fill. When it stopped, it was still for a moment. Then a body began to form as the tub drained. First a mouth, and then eyes, then the whole of Jennifer's body was there, clothes and all. For a moment, the face was still less defined, but then she sat up and there was Jennifer, fully formed.

"Well, I guess a church is a good place for this after all." Lily said. "The miracle of life."

"No need to get poncey." Buzzer said. "It's just gunge."

"Guys, we need to get to work." Cleeves told them.

"Okay, everybody." Jimmy said. "Let's crack on."

He reached down and helped Jennifer out.

"Did I mention the solar storm?" The Doctor demanded. "You need to get out of here."

"Well, where do you want us to go?" Jimmy demanded. "We're on a tiny island."

"Well, I can get you all off it." The Doctor replied.

"Don't be ridiculous." Cleeves scoffed. "We've got a job to do."

"It's coming." Lily said.

A second later, an alarm went off.

"That's the alarm." Jennifer said.

"How do you get power?" the Doctor demanded.

"We're solar and we use a solar router." Cleeves replied. "The weather vane."

"Big problem." The Doctor said.

"Boss, maybe if the storm comes back, we should get underground." Jimmy suggested. "The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit."

"We have 200 tons of acid to pump out." Cleeves told him. "We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone what that?"

"Please." The Doctor begged, grabbing her arm and pulling her off to the side. "You are making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't – if you don't – prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger, understand?"

"My factory, my rules." She replied, walking away.

"We need to check the progress of the storm." Lily said, looking at Jennifer. "Where's the monitoring station?"

The other woman hesitated.

"Monitoring station!" the Doctor barked, snapping his fingers at her.

"Three lefts, a right, and a left." She told him quickly. "Third door on your left."

"Thank you." Lily told her, joining the Doctor as he strode out the door, leaving Amy and Rory to follow.

Following Jennifer's instructions, they found their way as the building around them began to shake.

_We need to watch Amy closely._ The Doctor said silently. _We can't get them away now._

_I know._ Lily said, glancing at their companions.

The Doctor squeezed her hand as they entered the room they were looking for. Inside was a bank of instruments that the Doctor and Phoenix immediately went to.

"The wave's disturbing the earth's magnetic field." The Doctor told the humans. "There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. You see this weather vane, the cock-a-doodle-doo? It's a solar router, feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, kaboom. I've got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose."

"I'm so glad Jack wasn't here to hear you say that." Lily said, chuckling. "Oh the jokes he would've had a field day telling."

The Doctor just shook his head as they headed for the door. When they reached the doorway, Lily stopped and turned back to Amy.

"Amy, breathe." She ordered. "Just relax."

She turned and followed her mate out the door.

"Yeah!" Amy replied, totally confused. "I mean, thanks, I'll try."

She exchanged a confused look with her husband before following the Time Lords out. Lily and the Doctor found themselves in the courtyard and the Doctor headed for a ladder, but Lily stopped him.

"I'll go." She told him, stepping on the ladder.

"Exactly why?" he demanded.

"Because I'm lighter and I'll move quicker." She replied. "Also, you're always the one doing the hairbrained stunts. I figure it's my turn."

She leaned over and swiftly kissed him before starting her climb. The Doctor watched, worried.

"You need to pull the relays!" he yelled up to her as the storm raged above them.

"No, really?" she shouted back, opening the panel. "I do know what I'm doing, Theta!"

She pulled one relay and it set off a small explosion.

"Careful!" The Doctor shouted.

"Now you know how I feel when you do stupid things!" Lily called back, reaching for the other relay, but before she could grab it, lightning hit the tower.

Lily screamed as she was blown off the ladder, hitting the ground as a blast went through the monastery, knocking everyone unconscious.

And all was quiet.

A/N: So…what do you think? Things are about to get weird.

On to other topics:

_**BEWARE! HERE THEIR BE (SLIGHT) SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!**_

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_**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! LAST CHANCE TO LOOK AWAY!**_

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><strong>_

_**STILL HERE? ON YOUR OWN HEAD BE IT!**_

Okay, so I have to say, I am seriously disappointed by the Christmas Special. Once again, Moffat proved that while he a master of the ramp up, he sucks at the pay off! Two seasons of "Silence Will Fall" and creepy memory monsters blowing up TARDISes and stealing children and raising them as craze sexual psychopaths, and all we get is a one line explination that has something to do with a renegade faction of weird, genetically engineered priests?

Also, why would you want to go to a priest that just makes you forget what you confessed? Don't you just go on feeling guilty because you don't remember that you confessed anything? Think these things through, Moffat!

Also, I feel like Smith was criminally cheated. Since we got rid of the insane complex River storyline, I feel like Matt Smith had really come into his own as the Doctor. He deserved to go out with a bang, instead of the whimper that Moffat gave him.

Also, if they cheat us out of actually finding Gallifrey, I may be pissed enough to stop watching.

Moffat has gotten so used to being considered clever that he isn't even trying now. It just seems like that they've forgotten that to be clever, you ACTUALLY HAVE TO BE CLEVER!

That being said, I do have great hope for Capaldi. He may be what we need. I hope.

Okay, rant done. Thank you for your time.

Review!

Abbey


	25. The Rebel Flesh: Fight To Be Real

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, I'd camp out at the recording studio with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and just have a grand ol'time.

Ch. 25:

The first thing Lily realized when she came back to consciousness was that she had slammed barriers down between her mind and the Doctor's mind without even really knowing why.

The second thing she realized was the suppression device around her neck was damaged.

* * *

><p>The Doctor came to with a gasp and sat up. The weather vane was gone and nearby, Lily lay where she had been thrown, completely still.<p>

"Lily?" he called, both aloud and silently.

His mind recoiled when it hit the barrier between him and his mate. He immediately rushed to her side, pressing his hands against her temples, trying to reach her, but he couldn't get passed the walls.

"Lily, wake up." He told her, lightly slapping her cheeks, but she didn't rouse.

* * *

><p>Amy and Rory woke up on the floor of the flesh chamber.<p>

"Oh." Rory moaned. "For want of a better – ow!"

* * *

><p>The Doctor carried Lily in his arms as he came down the stairs. Nearby, Cleaves was standing there, disoriented.<p>

"You're not in your harness!" he told her.

"I'm sorry, Doctor." She told him. "You were right."

"You've lost all power to the factory." He said.

"Doctor, I abandoned my team." She said, not seeming to hear him.

"Then let's go get them." He said.

He nodded to her and they walked inside.

"How long would you say we were unconscious for, Cleaves?" The Doctor asked.

"Not long." She replied, seeming more steady. "A minute, two minutes."

"I'd hazard we've been out a teensy bit longer." He told her.

"Well, how long?" she asked.

"An hour – " he replied. "I've seen whole worlds turned inside out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour."

He stopped and adjusted Lily in his grip.

"What happened to her?" Cleaves asked. "Why didn't she wake up with the rest of us?"

"I don't know." The Doctor replied, his voice tense.

He continued on and Cleaves followed with a sigh.

* * *

><p>Amy and Rory found their way to the harness room as the humans were getting out of their harnesses.<p>

"I feel like I've been toasted." Buzzer said.

"What the hell happened?" Jimmy demanded.

"The tsunami happened." Amy replied. "You're hurt."

"Well, it feels like the national grid's running through my bones, but apart from that…" he replied.

"I hope the meter's not bust." Buzzer said. "I still want to get paid."

"Why-y-y?" Jennifer stuttered.

Rory spotted her by herself and went to comfort her.

"Jennifer." He said. "Jennifer? Hi."

"It hurt so much." She told him.

"Hey." He said, hugging her. "Hey, it's okay, it's over."

"I couldn't get out of my harness." She said.

"Shh." Rory soothed her.

"I thought I was going to die." She cried.

"Welcome to my world." Rory replied.

He looked over Jennifer's head to his wife, who was watching him. He shrugged and gave her a half smile, which she returned.

The Doctor entered the room, distracting them.

"Phoenix!" Both Rory and Amy exclaimed, running to the Doctor.

"I don't know what's wrong with her." He told them.

They could hear the panic in his voice.

"I can't feel her." He told them. "Even when she's unconscious, I can feel her. Something's cutting me off."

"Let's get her somewhere to lay her down." Rory told him. "I'm sure she's fine."

The Doctor nodded.

"Doctor, these are the real people." Amy said. "So where are the gangers?"

"Don't worry." Cleaves told her. "When the link shuts down, the gangers returns to pure flesh. Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time."

They were all distracted by the sound of Dusty Springfield.

"That's my record." Jimmy said. "Who's playing my record?"

"Your gangers." The Doctor told him. "They've gone walkabout."

"No, it's impossible." Cleaves said. "They're not active – cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves, and gangers don't – "

They all turned towards the music.

* * *

><p>They entered a room that was obviously where the crew spent their free time and found the turntable playing. Things were strewn around, having been searched.<p>

"No way." Buzzer said.

"I don't – I don't believe this." Cleaves said.

"They could've escaped through the service door in the back." Jimmy suggested.

"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey." Buzzer said.

The Doctor went to the table and Rory cleared a space for him to set Lily down. He immediately took out his screwdriver and scanned her. He studied the results and sighed.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, leaning down to his mate. "What's wrong? Tell me, I can help. What are you afraid of?"

"What did the scan say?" Rory asked.

"It says she should be awake." The Doctor said. "I don't understand it. Lily, tell me what's wrong!"

* * *

><p>Lily heard the Doctor calling to her, but she couldn't risk deviating from her task.<p>

_You dared to bind me!_ The Dark Phoenix snarled. _You had no right!_

_You are too dangerous!_ Lily said, pushing against her._ You make him afraid!_

_He should be afraid._ The Dark Phoenix told her._ The time is coming, the moment of the fall, and you will need me!_

_I can be strong without you._ Lily told her.

The Dark Phoenix lashed out against Lily, but the Time Lady held.

* * *

><p>"They've ransacked everything." Cleaves said.<p>

"Not ransacked, searched." The Doctor said distractedly.

"Through our stuff?" she demanded.

"Their stuff." He replied.

He leaned down and rested his head against Lily's stomach.

"Wake up." He pleaded softly.

"Searching for what?" Jimmy demanded.

The Doctor didn't answer.

"Doctor." Amy said softly. "You need to focus. The quicker we solve this, the quicker we can help Lily. She would want you to figure this out."

He looked at his best friend and after a moment nodded. He gently kissed Lily's hand before straightening.

"Confirmation." The Doctor said. "They need to know that their memories are real."

"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now." Buzzer sneered.

"They feel compelled to connect to their lives, yeah." The Doctor told him.

"Their stolen lives." Cleaves told him.

"No, bequeathed." He shot back. "You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets – everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them."

"I'll say it again – Isle of Sheppey." Buzzer said. "Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator, right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was – "

"Even if this actually happened," Jimmy interrupted, "they can't remain stable without us plumbed into them – can they, boss?"

"I guess we'll find out." Cleaves replied.

Jennifer gasped and Rory went to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Do you need some water?"

"I feel funny." She replied. "I need the washroom."

She ran for the door.

"I'll come with you." He said, following her.

Dicken sneezed.

"Sorry." He said.

The Doctor went back to Lily.

"That's me." Buzzer said, moving to where a card house was constructed. "It's good to have a hobby. So, what, my ganger did that, all on its own?"

"Who taught you to do this?" the Doctor asked, glancing at the house briefly.

"Me granddad." He replied.

"Well, your ganger's granddad taught him to do it, too." The Doctor told him. "You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real."

"No." Buzzer shot back, knocking down the house.

"They're scared, disoriented, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads." He told him. "I empathize with them right now."

He grabbed a chair and sat down next to Lily. He leaned down and rested his head on her arm.

* * *

><p>Lily pushed for all she was worth, slamming into the part of her that was the vortex.<p>

_Why do you fight against this?_ The Dark Phoenix asked, genuinely confused.

_Because the Doctor needs me._ Lily told her. _And he was right that no Time Lord should have this power. We're too strong. No one should have the power to rewrite the universe to their whims. Because you are anger and rage. You were born when I died in the fire of the Crucible. You kept us alive, but you're just like the other Doctor we sent with Rose, full of rage and fire. You kept us alive when we needed it, but now I can stand on my own and you threaten all I hold dear._

_I only want to protect those we love._ The Dark Phoenix told her angrily.

_But you go about it in a way that I can't live with!_ Lily told her. _You must see that!_

_The time when you will need me is coming._ The Dark Phoenix told her.

_You keep saying that._ Lily said. _ What's coming? Why will I need you?_

_The fall and the reveal._ The Dark Phoenix replied cryptically.

"Please Lily."

_You can hear him_. Lily told her counterpart. _He needs me. Please._

_You can't control me forever._ The Dark Phoenix warned.

_I'll take today._ Lily said.

She pushed as hard as she could and felt the powers slip into her control. The Dark Phoenix went to sleep and all that was left was Lily.

She opened her eyes.

* * *

><p>Rory stood in the doorway as Jennifer stood at the sink, looking in the mirror.<p>

"The Doctor's always saying 'don't wander off'." He told her. "First rule with him, actually, 'don't wander off."

"I just need a minute." Jennifer said.

"Oh, yeah, yeah." Rory agreed. "Sure, yeah. Take all the time you need. I've got your back. You're fine."

Rory turned his back as Jennifer looked in the mirror. Her face shifted to that of ganger and she gasped, coughing up some of the flesh.

"Uh, Jennifer?" Rory asked.

With a shudder, Jennifer ran into one of the stalls, locking the door.

"What's up, Jennifer?" Rory called, turning back around. "We'd, uh, better get going."

He set the flashlight on the counter.

"Everything okay in there, Jen?" he called.

Rory looked in the mirror and turned back, only to be punched in the jaw by a large fist. The arm attached to fist pulled back through a hole in the stall door. On the floor, Rory watched in horror as Ganger Jennifer's head came through the hole, connected to a long snake-like neck.

"Just let us live." She growled at him.

Rory scrambled off the floor, grabbed the flashlight, and ran out of the room.

* * *

><p><em>Theta?<em>

The Doctor quickly sat up and looked at Lily, who blinkingly opened her eyes.

"Lily!" he said, standing up and bending over her.

Amy ran over to them.

"Are you okay?" he asked, helping her to sit up.

She looked him in the eye.

_The suppression device is damaged._ She told him. _I have control for now, but I don't know…_

He quickly scanned the device.

_We can fix it, but not here._ He told her._ We need parts for the TARDIS. That's why you blocked me._

_She's fighting me. _Lily told him. _She's strong, Theta. She's sleeping now, but if she wakes up, I'm not sure I can beat her. I think if she wakes up again, she might take control and I won't be able to stop her._

_I won't let that happen._ The Doctor told her, leaning his forehead against hers._ Trust me. I won't let you lose control._

Lily nodded. She swung her legs over the side of the table and the Doctor helped her to stand.

"So where are we?" she asked. "What's happened?"

"Phoenix?" Amy said hesitantly.

Lily turned and smiled at the other woman.

"Hello, Amy." She said.

Amy sighed and quickly moved forward to hug her friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Lily replied, pulling back to look at the redhead. "What about you? Are you breathing?"

"Um, yes." Amy replied, confused.

"Good." Lily replied, hugging her again before letting her go.

"Now, catch me up." She told her mate.

He opened his mind and let everything that happened flow through the bond to her.

"Right, so fully autonomous gangers, no power, and a building that is probably leaking acid as we speak." She summed up. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, that about covers it." The Doctor replied happily.

"I'm hungry." Lily said.

She walked over to the microwave and the Doctor followed her. She perused the selection of food as her mate watched her.

"You're staring, Theta." She told him blandly.

"I missed you." He told her, grinning.

"We were only separated for an hour and a fifteen minutes." She said with an exasperated, but fond, sigh.

"Too long." He shot back.

She smiled and shook her head, leaning over to kiss his cheek, as she grabbed a container and stuck it in the microwave.

"We need to protect ourselves." Jimmy said.

"Are you a violent man, Jimmy?" The Doctor asked, leaning against the counter as Lily watched the microwave.

"No." the other man replied.

"They why would the other Jimmy be?" Lily asked.

"Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Phoenix." Cleaves said.

"Well, I just fought an all powerful being for possession of my body, so I'm a little peckish, sue me." She shot back.

"You told me that we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when, in fact, it was an hour." The Doctor pointed out.

"Sorry, I just assumed – " she said.

"Well, it's not your fault." The Doctor interrupted. "Like I said, they're disoriented. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harnesses?"

The time went off and Lily took the plate out of the microwave with a towel.

"Um, Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out." Amy replied.

"Jennifer?" Lily asked.

"She was standing on her own when we got to her." Amy answered.

Lily handed the plate to Cleaves, who took it with her bare hands.

"It's hot." Lily told her after a second.

Cleaves hissed and dropped the plate, shattering it on the ground.

"The transmatter's still a little rubbery." The Doctor said, examining Cleaves hands. "The nerve endings are not quite fused properly."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ganger Cleaves demanded, snatching her hands away.

"It's okay." Lily said softly.

"Why didn't I feel that?" Ganger Cleaves demanded.

"You will." The Doctor assured her. "You'll stabilize."

"No, stop it." Ganger Cleaves told him. "You're playing stupid games. Stop it!"

She turned her back to them.

"You don't have to hide." The Doctor told her gently, approaching her slowly. "Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor."

Ganger Cleaves turned on the Doctor with a hiss, her face in its half-form state. Buzzer grabbed a knife from the table and headed towards her, but Jimmy stopped him.

"Where's the real Cleaves, you thing?!" Buzzer demanded. "What have you done with her?!"

"That's it, good." The Doctor said, ignoring Buzzer. "This is early flesh, the early stages of the technology. So much…." He reached out and touched her as she shuddered, "to learn."

"Doctor, what's happened to her?" Amy demanded.

"She can't stabilize." The Doctor replied.

"She's stuck in between half-formed and full-formed." Lily told her. "But it's okay. She'll stabilize. This is just for now."

"We are living!" Ganger Cleaves shouted.

She lunged at the Doctor, but she was thrown back by a wall of gold. The Doctor glanced at Lily, who was holding her middle, trying to regain control, as Ganger Cleaves ran from the room.

"Let her go." He ordered, his eyes not moving from his mate.

"Doctor, Rory." Amy said.

"'Rory'?" he repeated.

"Rory!" she said, turning with her arms in the air, pointing out that her husband was not in the room.

"Oh, Rory." The Doctor said, understanding. "Rory! Always with the Rory!"

Lily straightened.

_Are you okay? _he asked her.

_If you could stay out of danger for a little while that would be very helpful._ She told him, her voice strained.

_I will try._ He replied.

Lily just snorted.

"Let's go find Amy's husband." She said, heading for the door.

* * *

><p>Rory was currently moving through the ruins.<p>

* * *

><p>The Doctor, his finger entwined with Lily's, Amy, and Jimmy exited one of the buildings to find their way blocked by acid on the ground.<p>

"The explosion must've ruptured the acid feeds." Jimmy said. "We're going to need the acid suits."

"No, no, no, we haven't got time." The Doctor said. "Back, back, back."

They turned and headed back.

* * *

><p>Rory also found his way blocked and decided to turn back.<p>

"Rory!" he heard Ganger Jennifer calling.

He ducked behind some crates as she walked by.

"Rory?!" she called. "Rory?!"

She turned and he saw that her face was in the half-form.

* * *

><p>The others ran into the washroom and they saw the hole in the stall door.<p>

"Rory!" Amy yelled.

"Of course." The Doctor said. "Jennifer's a ganger, too."

"Doctor, you said they wouldn't be violent." Amy said.

"But they are scared, and angry." The Phoenix said softly. "And we are all capable of horrible things when we're scared."

She looked over to the Doctor and he saw a gold sheen over her eyes.

"Yes, we are." He agreed.

"And early technology, is what you said." Jimmy pointed out. "You seem to know something about the flesh."

"Do you?" Amy demanded. "Doctor? Phoenix?"

"You're no weatherman." Jimmy said. "Why are you really here?"

"I have to talk to them." The Doctor said. "I can fix this."

He ran from the room.

"What did I say about staying safe?!" Lily shouted after him, following him out with Amy.

"Wait!" Jimmy called, following them. "What's going on? Where's the real Jennifer?!"

* * *

><p>Jennifer wandered down some stairs, leaning against the wall.<p>

* * *

><p>Jimmy, Amy, The Doctor, and Lily reached the top of the stairs and started to head down, only to be cut off by steam and acid once again.<p>

"It's too dangerous with the acid leaks." Lily said with a sigh.

"We have to find Rory." Amy told her.

"And we will." The Time Lady assured her. "But we can't do it like this."

"She's right, Amy." The Doctor told his friend. "I'm going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall. I want us to keep together, okay? No more wandering off."

"And what about Rory?" Amy demanded.

"It's safer to look for Rory and Jennifer with the TARDIS." Lily soothed her.

"Here we go." Jimmy said, spotting a box on the wall. "Distress flares."

He turned around and found the Doctor right next to him.

"Exit?" the Time Lord demanded.

"Keep going straight, can't miss it." Jimmy replied. "But you're never going to get your vehicle in here."

"He's a great parker." Lily said with a grin as the Doctor took her hand and led her out.

"Ew." Amy said, making a face.

"We really need those acid suits." Jimmy said. "I've sent Buzzer and Dicken to get them."

"Fine and dandy." Amy replied. "I'm just going to find my husband, so…cheers."

"But, Amy, I wouldn't – " Jimmy said.

"Nor would I." Amy interrupted. "What can you do, eh?"

She turned and headed down the tunnel.

"At least wait for an acid suit!" he called after her.

* * *

><p>Rory found Jennifer's Ganger sitting on a bench with her back towards him as he entered the room slowly.<p>

"When I was a little girl," She said, not turning around, "I got lost on the moors. Wandered off from the picnic. I can still feel how sore my toes got inside my red Wellie Boots."

Rory saw that she was holding a picture of Jennifer as a child, wearing the red boots.

"And I imagined another little girl, just like me, in red Wellies, and she was Jennifer, too." She continued. "Except she was a strong Jennifer, a tough Jennifer. She'd lead me home."

She removed the picture and looked at her half-form in the glass for a second before focusing on the new picture of Jennifer.

"My name is Jennifer Lucas." She said. "I'm not a factory part. I had toast for my breakfast, I wrote a letter to my mum, and then you arrived."

She turned and looked at Rory.

"I noticed your eyes, right off." She told him.

"Did you?" he asked carefully.

"Nice eyes." She said. "Kind."

"Where's the real Jennifer?" Rory asked gently, bending down.

"I am Jennifer Lucas!" she shouted, standing up. "I remember everything that happened in her entire life. Every birthday, every childhood illness. I feel everything she's every felt, and more."

She started to cry.

"I'm not a monster!" she sobbed. "I am me!"

She started beating her chest.

"Me! Me! ME!"

"Hey." Rory said as she changed to her full-form and he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Why did they do this to us?" Ganger Jennifer cried. "Help me, Rory. Help me."

Not knowing what to do, Rory pulled her into a hug.

A/N: I hope you like this. I'm trying to set up my own story line for A Good Man Goes To War/Let's Kill Hitler, so we'll see how this goes.

Let me know if you liked it, pretty please!

Abbey


	26. The Rebel Flesh: Free to Be Me

Disclaimer: If I own Doctor Who, that gives me a connection to Sherlock, which gives me a connection to Benedict Cumberbatch. :D

Ch. 26:

The Phoenix followed the Doctor into the Flesh room as he took out his screwdriver.

_This is not a good idea, Theta._ She told him.

_We need to try._ He replied.

He pointed the screwdriver at the vat and turned it on. The liquid began to bubble and the Doctor grabbed Lily's hand and they ran out of the room.

They didn't see the mouth that appeared on the surface, nor did they hear the words it spoke.

"Trust me."

* * *

><p>The couple ran outside and found the TARDIS submerged in the ground.<p>

"Oh." The Doctor exclaimed. "What are you doing down there?"

Lily groaned and grabbed her head.

"Alyssy?" the Doctor said, worriedly reaching for her.

"I'm alright." She told him breathlessly. "She fighting. She knows I can't get to the parts I need."

"You have to hold on." He told her. "I'll get us in."

He reached into his pocket.

"Theta, move." Lily ordered, grabbing him and pulling him back.

He looked down and saw that his shoes had started to melt due to the puddle of acid he had been standing in.

"We need a new plan." Lily told him.

The Doctor sighed and started taking off his boots.

* * *

><p>Rory walked across the courtyard with Ganger Jennifer.<p>

"Are you sure you're feeling better?" he asked. "No more super-elastic punches?"

"I'm…different now, stronger." She told him.

"The Doctor won't hurt you." He assured her. "And the Phoenix loves picking up strays to protect. I should know! They want to help, Jennifer, okay?"

Jennifer stopped.

"You used my name." she marveled "You used my name! Thank you!" She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Amy's a lucky girl."

"Yeah…she is." Rory agreed with a sigh. "Let's go."

They walked past a stairway, not noticing Cleaves, who waited for them to pass before running out.

* * *

><p>Amy wandered down the tunnels, which ended at a large wooden door.<p>

"Rory." Amy called. "Rory."

She slowly opened the door and peered inside. In the wall was an opening where a woman with an eye-patch looking at her. The panel slid closed and Amy gasped, slamming the door shut.

"Amy!"

Amy turned with a gasp, but sighed when she saw it was Rory.

"You're okay." She said. "What happened?"

She walked towards him, but stopped when she saw Ganger Jennifer.

"She needs protecting." Her husband told her.

Amy opened her mouth, but Buzzer and Dicken chose that moment to join them.

"Jen?" Dicken asked.

"No, it's a ganger." Amy answered. "Rory, listen – "

"No, you listen – nobody touches her!" he ordered.

* * *

><p>The Doctor and Lily found themselves in the acid room and looked around, spotting the acid suits.<p>

"Hello." Lily said, focusing on the Gangers in the room. "Are we all okay?"

"Why don't _you_ tell_ us_?" Ganger Cleaves demanded.

"Well, we have two choices." The Doctor told her. "The first is to tear each other apart – not my favorite – the second is to knuckle down and work together. Try to work out how best we can help you."

* * *

><p>"Now, I know it's hard for you to hold your fully human form," the Doctor said as they all walked down the tunnels, "that's why you keep shifting between the flesh stages, but do try – it'll make the others less scared of you."<p>

Unnoticed by them, the human Cleaves watched them as they walked past. Her Ganger stopped and she ducked back as Ganger Cleaves' head spun 180°.

* * *

><p>Ganger Jennifer sat at the table, with Rory standing behind her. Across from her sat Buzzer, Jimmy, and Dicken, with Amy standing behind them.<p>

"Where's Jen?" Buzzer demanded. "What have you done with her?"

"I haven't seen her." Ganger Jennifer told him earnestly. "I swear. But, look, I'm her. I'm just like her. I'm real."

"You're a copy." Jimmy told her. "You're just pretending to be like her."

"Rory," Amy whispered, "um, we don't really know anything about them yet – "

"Well – " Rory interrupted.

"And – " Amy continued.

"I know that she's afraid and she needs our help." Rory said over his wife.

"Rory – " Amy tried again.

"Jimmy, Buzzer, come one, you guys." Ganger Jennifer said. "We've worked together for two years."

"I worked with Jennifer Lucas, not you." Buzzer said angrily.

"Okay, let's not do anything at all." Amy told them, "Until the Doctor gets here."

The last was said in tandem as the Doctor and the Phoenix entered the room.

"Hello." The Doctor said brightly.

"What am I?" Lily demanded. "Chopped liver?"

The other four gangers entered behind them.

"This is – " Jimmy trailed off, staring at his ganger.

"You're telling me." The ganger replied.

"All right, Doctor," Ganger Cleaves said, "you've brought us together – now what?"

"Before we do anything, I have one very important question – " he said seriously, "has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size 10. Although, I should warn you – I have very wide feet."

They all stared at him.

"I want a new mate." Lily said with a sigh.

* * *

><p>The Doctor sat on the edge of the table, new brown boots on his feet, with his arm around the Phoenix's waist and Amy behind him. To one side stood the Originals, while on the other stood the Gangers, while Ganger Jennifer stood apart with Rory.<p>

"The flesh was never merely moss." The Doctor told them. "These are not copies. The storm has hardwired them."

"They're people now." Lily finished.

"With souls?" Jimmy asked.

"Rubbish." Dicken said before sneezing.

"Bless you." His Ganger said, making Ganger Cleaves look at him. "What?"

"We were all jelly, once." The Doctor said. "Little jelly eggs, sitting in goop."

"Yeah, thanks." Amy said. "Too much information."

"This isn't some accident that needs to be fixed." Lily continued over her. "Mistake or not, life has been created here, and that is sacred. Do you understand that? You don't have the luxury of sweeping this under the rug."

"Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool." The Doctor told them. "Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island, humans and gangers, eh, how does that sound?"

"Can we get home for Adam's birthday?" Jimmy asked.

"What about me?" his Ganger demanded. "He's my son, too."

"_You_?" Jimmy replied incredulously. "You really think that?"

"I feel it." Ganger Jimmy replied.

"Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?" Jimmy shot back.

"Yeah." Ganger Jimmy answered. "I drank about 8 pints of tea and they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing." He laughed to himself. "No idea why. I miss home. As much as you."

"Look, no one is saying that this isn't insane." Lily told them. "It is insane, but it's also reality."

"It's a right odd mess, this." The Doctor said. "But, as you might say up north, 'Oh, well, I'll just go to t' foot of the stairs'."

He laughed awkwardly and Lily shook her head as he glanced at him.

"Shh, babe." She told him patting his arm. "Accents aren't for everyone."

"Right." He said with a sigh. "Anyway, the first step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe, then get everyone out of here."

"But we're still missing Jennifer and Cleaves." Amy pointed out.

"I'll go and look for them." Jimmy said, heading for the door.

"I'll give you a hand, if you like." His Ganger offered, joining him. "Cover more ground."

"Yeah." He replied slowly. "Okay. Thanks."

"This circus has gone on long enough!"

They all turned to find Cleaves behind them, holding a device in her hand that was crackling with electricity.

"Oh, great." Her Ganger sighed. "You see, that is just so typically me."

"Doctor, tell _it_ to _shut up_." Cleaves ordered.

"Please, no." The Doctor pleaded with her. "No! No!"

"Circuit probe." She told them, motioning to the device. "Fires about, oh, 40,000 volts. It would kill any one of us, so I guess she'll work on gangers, just the same."

"Can we talk about the fact that used just used 'it' to describe living beings, but used 'she' for a glorified cattle prod?" Lily asked. "Cause I think that may speak to some sort of psychosis you may want to have checked out."

"Perhaps we shouldn't antagonize the person holding the glorified cattle prod on us." The Doctor muttered.

"If you don't let me antagonize people threatening us, I'll never get to antagonize anyone." She shot back. "And it's so much fun."

He grabbed her arm and made her look at him. The cruel smile on her lips fell away and she staggered.

"I didn't even feel her." She whispered.

"Cleaves, what are you going to do with them?" Amy asked, taking attention away from the Time Lords.

"Sorry, they're monsters, mistakes." Cleaves replied. "They have to be destroyed."

"Give me the probe, Cleaves." The Doctor said, moving away from Lily, leaned against the table heavily.

"We have to take charge, don't we, Miranda?" Ganger Cleaves said. "Even when we don't really know what the hell is going on."

Ganger Buzzer charged at Cleaves before the others could stop him and she promptly shot him three times. He fell to the ground and the Doctor and Rory ran to him.

Lily took a step forward and Amy stopped her with a hand on her arm. The Time Lady turned and Amy flinched away from the look in her eyes but held herself in place. After a moment, Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"Stop." The Doctor told Cleaves as Amy stopped Lily and he checked Ganger Buzzer. "Oh! Ah! He's dead!"

"We call it 'decommissioned'." Cleaves replied.

She waved the probe around in the air and Ganger Jennifer gasped and ducked away from it.

"You stopped his heart." The Doctor told Cleaves. "He had a heart! Aorta, valves – a real human heart! And you stopped it!"

"Jen?" Rory questioned the woman across from him as her eyes shifted.

"What happened to Buzz will happen to us all, if we trust you!" she shouted.

"Wait, wait." The Doctor said, standing up. "Just wait!"

"No!" Rory said, jumping Cleaves and knocking her to the ground.

As he wrestled the probe away from Cleaves, the Gangers took the opportunity to escape from the room.

"Wait!" the Doctor shouted after them.

Lily went to Rory and pulled Cleaves to her feet as he climbed to his.

"You idiot!" Cleaves hissed.

"Hey." Lily said, shaking her before letting her go. "You are alive only because I have control at the moment. Don't push me."

"Look what you've done, Cleaves." The Doctor told her.

"If it's war, then it's war." She replied. "You don't get it, Doctor. How can you? It's us and them now."

She turned to Jimmy, Dicken, and Buzzer.

"Us…and them." She stressed.

"Us and them." Dicken agreed.

Jimmy hesitated for a moment and then sighed.

"Us and them." He agreed.

The Doctor sighed unhappily and Lily came over and wrapped her arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her and simply held her.

* * *

><p>"Don't be like that." Rory said as he and Amy covered Ganger Buzzer with a sheet. "She's real."<p>

"You killed him." Jimmy whispered to Cleaves.

"The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery?" the Doctor demanded. "Cleaves! The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery!"

"The chapel." She told him.

"Thank you." He replied.

"Only one way in, stone walls, 2 feet thick." She continued.

"You've crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves." The Phoenix told her. "You killed one of them and I doubt they're going to take it well. They're going to come back, and I would guess in a big way."

She strode past Cleaves and towards the Doctor, only to stop halfway there, clutching her head.

"Lily-girl?" the Doctor asked hesitantly.

"I'm okay." She said, breathing heavily. "She's just fighting me."

The others froze as the air around Lily grew hazy.

"No!" she hissed. "Let me out! I can't! Let me free and I will kill them all. He will be protected."

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amy asked.

Rory started towards Lily, but the Doctor stopped him.

"Don't touch her." He ordered them all. "She's fighting. Any distraction could kill us all."

They watched in silence as the Phoenix fell to her knees.

"This is my body, I will not let you spill blood with my hands!" they heard Lily growl.

"You don't have a choice."

"I always have a choice. I am a Time Lady and the mate of the Doctor and you do not control me!"

Lily looked up at the Doctor and in an instant he was kneeling in front of her, his forehead against hers.

_I'm here._ He told her silently.

_Help me._ She whispered.

He threw himself into her mind and sought out the brilliant darkness.

_Let her be._ He told it. _You must let her be. You're destroying her._

_I'm protecting you. _The Dark Phoenix told him harshly. _You must change this course. The path you tread will lead to your death._

_I have no choice, and neither does Lily._ The Doctor told her. _Our companion is in danger, we must save her._

_Your companion leads you to your doom._

_What are you protecting us from, really? _Lily asked.

_The day of the fall._ The Dark Phoenix replied. _The day you will call for me freely and I will answer._

_You say I will call for you. _Lily said. _Then sleep until I do._

_The time is nigh at hand._ The Dark Phoenix replied.

_But it is not now._ Lily said. _ Go to sleep._

With the Doctor's help, she pushed against the Dark Phoenix until she was contained in the farthest reaches of the Time Lady's mind.

The others watched in fear as Lily finally sagged against the Doctor.

"I can't keep doing this." She whispered. "She's going to beat me one of these times."

"We'll get you back to the TARDIS." The Doctor told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We'll fix the collar."

"But how long until she's stronger than the collar?" Lily asked, pulling back to look at him.

The Doctor didn't answer; he just climbed to his feet, pulling her after him.

"We need to move." He told the others. "Rory, help the Phoenix."

Rory came over and wrapped his arm around Lily's waist, taking her weight from the Doctor, as the Time Lord headed out the door.

* * *

><p>The group rushed through the tunnels towards the chapel, the Doctor in front and Rory and Amy, helping Lily, taking up the rear.<p>

"What about the flares?" Jimmy asked.

"We'll worry about the flares when we're locked inside." The Doctor replied.

Rory transferred Lily back to the Doctor, who held his mate close as a scream ran through the tunnels.

"Rory Pond, get in here." Lily ordered, but he hesitated.

"Rory?" Amy questioned. "Come on."

"Jen's out there." Her husband told her. "She's out there and she's on her own."

He moved a little further down the hall. They could see the Gangers approaching in the distance.

"Well, if she's got any sense, then she's hiding." The Doctor told him, but he still hesitated. "Rory!"

"I can't leave her out there!" he told them.

"Rory!" Lily said sharply.

"I know you understand that." He told her.

"Get in here." Amy ordered. "Get in here!"

The Gangers approached the hallway and Rory took off down another hallway.

"There they are!" Ganger Cleaves called.

"Amy." The Doctor said, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside.

"Rory!" she yelled, fighting as the Doctor slammed the door.

Lily grabbed the other woman's arms and made her face her.

"Amy, they are not after him, they are after us." She told her friend.

"Why?" came a voice from the darkness. "Why?"

The humans braced the door as the Doctor and Lily moved away, Amy standing behind them.

"Show yourself." The Doctor said. "Show yourself!"

"Ah!" the voice groaned.

The others built a baracade against the door and Lily linked her fingers with the Doctor's and they approached the dark corner.

"Doctor!" Amy hissed.

"Pass me the barrel." Cleaves ordered.

"We need something heavy." Dicken said. "Anything you can find."

"This is insane." Jimmy said, laughing. "We're fighting ourselves."

"Yes, it's insiane and it's about to get even more insanerer." The Doctor told them. "Is that a word? Show yourself! Right now!"

"Doctor!" Amy said sharply. "We are trapped in here and Rory is out there, with them. Hello! We can't get to the TARDIS and we can't even leave the island."

"Correct, Pond." Came the Doctor's voice, but his lips didn't move. "It's frightening, unexpected, frankly, a total, utter, splattering mess on the carpet, but I'm certain, 100% certain, that we can work this out."

They watched in confusion as, from the shadows, a half-form Ganger Doctor appeared.

"Trust me." He told them. "I'm the Doctor."

A/N: HEY! I'M BACK!

So I know, I'm the wost author ever. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.

I could give you lots of excuses about how I have been super busy, how I have a full time job now where I actually have to work, how my life has been insane with health issues lately, and they would all be true. But here's the thing… I've found while writing this that I just really hate this story line.

I'm sorry to any of you who like River Song and her story, but I absolutely detest it, and I hate writing it. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why either. I mean, I love Rory, I love Amy, I even like River's snarkiness at times. But then I read something and it put it totally in perspective for me.

This story line is the same story line as Twilight.

Think about it. Girl has to chose between two men, chose one, has baby that grows quickly and is perfect for the other man, eventually marries the man she didn't chose. Yes, there are differences, but the basic plot structure is the same.

So, I am writing this, but I really want to deviate totally from this story line and try to figure out a way to make it work so that I don't want to hurt someone.

Please bare with me.

Abbey


End file.
